Persona: Spirits In Pixels
by The-Final-Fidelity
Summary: The infamous phenomenon returns to brings back the chaos onto the TV screens, along with new broadcasts and silhouettes; all with a new twist wrapped in mystery. As the Investigation Team reunite to reveal the all-new secrets of the Midnight Channel, a contact between them and a faraway group of Persona-Users will be made to aid them in their search for the answers. Yu x Rise
1. Surprise Visit

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter One_

_A Surprise Visit_

**Hey there guys! Welcome to a brand new story and thank you all for voting in the recent poll that came up. I must tell you now that it was a clear winner! Also, I looked at my Story Traffic at the end of last month and...WHOA! Over one -thousand of you read the last story in one month, and I am SO grateful for that, thank you all! Thank you to all of those who gave me help with my story structure along the way as well! Anyway...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0729 - Midday_

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><p>The midday sun rose high into the skies above as the afternoon finally begun, bombarding its warm glory over the small countryside that was Inaba. The train stations were lively than ever as the many few people waved their goodbyes and hellos, shouting over the echoing noises of the passing-by trains.<p>

Ryotaro and Nanako waited in their dusty car, waiting impatiently for their family relative to return to their town. Nanako fixated her eyes on the exit with a smile that couldn't be wiped from her face. Ryotaro couldn't help but smile at her expressions for her big bro.

He shook his wrist and took a quick look at his watch, reading the time carefully as he looked at the minute and hour hands with anticipation. _"His train should arrive now. Are you excited Nanako?" _He asked her, already knowing the answer. _"Uh-huh, I couldn't sleep last night!" _Nanako giggled, still keeping her eyes on the station.

"_Hmm..." _Ryotaro thought. _"Maybe I should've told his friends that he was coming back today..." _He muttered loudly, making it clear for Nanako to hear. _"It'll be a surprise for them!" _Nanako squealed. The father could only chuckle at his daughter's good thinking.

After a short while of talking about different topics in the car, Ryotaro's cell phone started to ring and vibrate in his trouser pocket. He quickly took it out and looked at the front of his phone, looking at the caller ID.

"_It's him." _Ryotaro stated as he accepted the call with a press of a button. _"Hey Yu!" _He shouted happily into the phone.

"_Hey Uncle Ryotaro!" _Yu mimicked his voice back. _"How are you?" _He asked, calming his voice down a bit. _"Everything's good, Nanako and I are just waiting for you outside the station now. Are you here yet?" _Ryotaro asked, hoping that nothing has gone wrong with the travel arrangements.

"_That's what I've called you about..." _Yu said, lowering his voice a bit. _"My train wasn't available because of something that happened to the brakes..." _Ryotaro's smile started to fade, along with Nanako's as she saw the change in his expression. _"Ah, okay..." _He sighed. _"Does that mean you won't be coming today?" _Nanako's jaw slightly dropped with a sad look in her eyes.

"_I'm still coming..." _Yu reassured them with a cheery voice. _"Y-You are...?" _Ryotaro asked surprised. Nanako's smile then came back, more joyful than before. _"How are you going to get here then?" _He asked in curiosity.

"_Right now I'm taking a train to another station, after that I'm gonna take another train there..." _Yu explained his plan. _"But the thing is, it'll take another two hours for me to get to you guys."_

Ryotaro gave a chuckle and then spoke again. _"You do what you've got to do, Yu." _Nanako was very eager to talk to Yu as she gave a few pokes to her father's shoulder. _"Can I talk to him, dad?" _She pleaded with puppy eyes.

He looked at her, giving in to her begs. _"Would you like to talk to Nanako?" _He asked, ready to hand the phone over to Nanako. _"Sure!" _Yu answered, waiting for Nanako's voice to come through the phone. Ryotaro handed his phone over to the daughter, and she quickly placed it against her ear.

"_Hey Big Bro!" _She shouted into the phone with a high-pitched tone. _"Hey Nanako! How are you doing?" _Yu asked with a softer and higher voice than before. _"I'm good." _The amount of excitement that Nanako had didn't grow any less than it did.

"_Are you gonna be late?" _Nanako asked with a hint of uncertainty looming in her mind. _"I will be Nanako...but how about I get you a souvenir when I get off the first train?" _Yu asked in slight guilt. Nanako gave a large gasp at his kindness and generosity. _"If you want to! I'll wait right here!" _She answered with a beaming smile.

The two cousins talked for a very long while about other topics before Nanako gave the phone back to Ryotaro. _"Okay Yu, we'll see you then." _He said. _"See you in a couple of hours!" _Yu said as he hanged up his phone, flipping it closed and stuffing it in his tight pocket.

He was the only person inside one carriage of the train and took his opportunities to correct some mistakes in his fashion sense. He wore three-quarter length trousers that fit tightly around his legs and leaving a small portion of his legs revealed. He also wore white plimsolls that were tied tightly around his feet with thin shoelaces, along with a small white polo shirt that was unbuttoned and the collar was lifted up.

As the train announcer warned the passengers about the next stop, Yu reached into his left pocket and took out a large ticket. The first thing he noticed was the name that was shown in big bold letters saying 'Rise Kujikawa', and under her name was the title for her concert, 'This Is The Real Me'. He also loved the lipstick marks that were left on the ticket, special for him.

Yu just couldn't help but smile at her name, remembering the intimate times he shared with Rise by just looking at her ticket. Even by looking at the words 'Back-Stage Pass', made him more excited to see her.

After leaving the last station, he took out his cell phone again and pressed a few buttons to access his text messages, instantly seeing the familiar list of messages that were sent by Rise. He looked through a few of them with a admiring smile on his face.

One said, _"hiii senpai! Plz come back 2 Inaba I miss u sooooo much! Xxxxxxx" _And another said, _"happy bday senpai! Wanna no what ur present is? Ill send it to u in the mail its a back-stage pass that I kept reserved just for you...and I kinda kissed it and left lipstick on it! Kiss it once you get it kay? I luv u senpai! Xxxxxxxx 3" _There would rarely be texts from other people in the list.

As the last text was read, his phone suddenly started to ring. He looked at the caller ID, happy to know that the call was from Rise. He accepted the call and spoke into the mouthpiece.

"_Hey Rise." _He said with a quiet masculine voice. _"Hi Senpai!" _Rise shouted into the phone. She sounded nervous as Yu heard a slight stammer in her voice. _"Are you coming over now?" _She asked with a sweet tone.

"_I'm nearly there now. Just on the way to the last station." _Yu explained to Rise through the phone, making her sound more nervous. _"I can't wait to see you! I couldn't stop crying for two days after you left Inaba..." _Rise confessed, trying to make her voice softer to charm him back. _"I can't wait to see you either. You were stuck in my mind as well..." _He said in a charming voice.

"_I'm so nervous..." _She said slowly. _"I mean, this is the first time I've done a concert in such a long time and on top of that...you're gonna watch me." _Yu chuckled and reassured her. _"Don't worry, you'll do great. I know it. Besides, I'm only there to support you and cheer you on, not to make you nervous, okay?"_

"_I know...but you're my boyfriend, surely you would expect me to do my best for you." _She said with a sweet giggle following after. _"Well, you'll expect me to do my best for you." _He said with a slightly cynical tone. Rise giggle again. _"Ooh, Senpai! What are you suggesting?"_

"_You'll find out once I get there." _Yu said, chuckling afterwards. _"Now I can't wait any longer. Get here soon okay? I wanna see you before I go on-stage." _Rise asked him softly, sounding hopeful and eager. _"I promise." _He said confidently.

"_I'll see you soon then!" _Rise shouted excitedly in a high-pitched tone. _"I love you, Yu Narukami..." _She finally said after a long sigh. _"I love you too, Rise Kujikawa." _Yu said after her, mimicking her quiet voice.

There was a long while of silence on the phone before Rise finally hung up. Yu flipped his cell phone closed and placed it back into his pocket, entering his thoughts on how the day would go.

The train announcer then spoke. _"This station is Port Island Station. Please mind the doors."_

Yu's stop was just in sight and that was his time to get up from his seat. He removed his shoulder-strapped bag from the overhead compartment and hung it on his shoulder, waiting for the train doors to open. The train eventually started to slow down, with the braking wheels screeching and echoing throughout the station. It finally came to a gradual halt, and the doors quickly drew open.

As Yu took a few steps outside, he again took out his cell phone and flipped it open, only looking at the digital clock that shone in bold white numbers. _"Yeah, still early..." _He muttered to himself, putting his phone away in his pocket.

He started to make his way towards the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital where Rise's concert was being held at the Summer Festival. Yu just couldn't help but look all around him, gazing at the magnificence of the city that reminded him of home.

Iwatodai was full of clean buildings and was very quiet despite it being a city.

A long while passed and Yu eventually came past a large high school that stood tremendously to the right of him. He stopped to take his time to stare at it, remembering it from a school trip and then remembering the name. Gekkoukan High School.

He looked below it's windows and found that a group of people were seen standing outside the entrance, huddled up into a small corner at the barred gates. Yu walked over to them, curious as to what was going on.

He joined the group, but couldn't see what they were looking at. He then looked at everyone's expressions only seeing sadness and despair in their eyes. After a short while of gazing at their faces, he put a hand on a boy's shoulder, letting his head turn to see him. The boy had short blonde hair, his body was skinny and he was trying to keep his cool.

"_Hey, you okay?" _Yu asked the boy, thinking about what he could do for him. _"Not really man..." _The boy answered looking back towards where he was looking before. Another boy in front of Yu moved out of his way to let him see what was wrong. The feelings of those around him, slowly filtered into Yu's heart as he gave his first glance in realisation.

Stood in front of the group was a self portrait of a slender young man who was wearing the Gekkoukan High uniform. He had blue eyes that matched the colour of his swept hair. He had a small smile on his face that seemed just perfect.

Yu remembered him appearing on the news and remembered his name clearly. _"Minato Arisato..." _He muttered under his breath, his feelings clear. He turned back to the blonde-haired boy. _"I assume you were his friend...I'm so sorry..." _He apologised greatly.

"_That's okay dude...and he was a good friend...I just can't believe he's gone..." _The boy slowly said with a lump choking in his throat. _"And it happened on graduation day! ...Why did his life end so suddenly and so early?" _His words sounded like an elegy as he talked about it more and more.

"_Oh sorry...the name's Kenji Tomochika." _He introduced himself with a friendly handshake to go with it. _"Nice to meet you Kenji, I'm Yu Narukami." _Yu introduced himself back. They decided to walk away from the group and sat on a bench that was situated a long distance from the gates next to a large statue. By the time they got to the bench, Kenji slightly felt better and started to talk positive. They sat down.

"_You don't look like you're from around here..." _Kenji said as he observed Yu's look and face. _"Do you live in Iwatodai?" _He asked curiously as Yu gave a smile. _"No, but I live on the outskirts. I took a train here." _Yu explained.

"_Yeah, you don't look familiar. Though, if you did live here, I would've gotten to know you years ago!" _Kenji joked, trying to cheer himself up with a small laugh. Yu laughed with him as his smile grew wider. _"Say..." _Kenji continued. _"What are you doing here? You wanted to do some shopping at Paulownia Mall?" _Yu shook his head.

"_Nah, I came here for Rise's concert at the Summer Festival. Are you going?" _Yu asked, wanting to get to know Kenji better. Unfortunately, he shook his head reluctantly. _"Well Rise is hot and all..." _Yu gave a short and quiet laugh at his comment and then went back to listening. _"...But I didn't think about going...besides, I didn't get any tickets..." _Kenji said as if he regretted it lowering his head slightly.

"_I'll get you in if you want." _Yu offered kindly, causing Kenji's head to shoot up in joy. _"R-Really? You'd do that for me?" _He asked excitedly. Yu couldn't help but laugh admiringly at his reaction. _"In fact, how about I get you back-stage to see her?" _The question that Yu asked made Kenji all the more up for it.

"_Y-You can really do that?" _Kenji's question came out as a shout. Yu quickly reached into his pocket and brought out his back-stage pass, holding in front of Kenji's face to see.

"_This is like a dream come true!" _He shouted as he glared at the ticket. The next thing he realised on the ticket was the lipstick mark that was left on the pass, making Kenji's smile turn cheeky. _"What?" _Yu asked, oblivious of the lipstick markings.

"_Dude, did Rise kiss your ticket?" _Kenji's smile grew wider and wider as a look of realisation formed on Yu's face. Yu quickly pushed the ticket back into his pocket and then after a few awkward seconds, came out with the truth. Kenji listened very carefully to his story and felt very impressed. _"Man, that is so awesome! You are actually going out with Rise Kujikawa!" _He spoke louder than he wanted to.

Yu put an index finger to his lips. _"But I don't want anyone else to know yet. So don't tell anyone, okay?" _He sounded serious, but Kenji gave a confident nod to Yu's request. _"Don't worry dude, you have my word." _Kenji reassured him as he put a hand to his heart. _"Thanks." _Yu thanked him with a smile.

They both talked for a long while about different topics, ranging from girls to relationships and from boy clothes to favourite bands. After a few minutes passed, Kenji went into deep thought and quickly came out of it again.

"_Actually, I don't want to go to the concert, but thanks for the offer man. I really appreciate it." _Kenji reluctantly said with a friendly smile. _"Are you sure?" _Yu asked, slightly surprised at his change of mind. _"Yeah. I've gotta think about college work anyway. That's also something that Minato would want me to do. We did think about working hard together once you know." _Kenji smiled wryly.

"_That's fine, Kenji. I understand" _Yu said with a nod. _"Thanks, Yu." _Kenji replied with his thanks. He observed Yu's look and personality some more and then smiled slightly.

"_You're so much like Minato. I mean, you make a good first impression, you're a good friend to others and you are really impressive to be with. It's like making friends with him for the first time again." _Kenji's words made him slightly embarrassed, but Yu was grateful and smiled widely at his kindness. _"Well, I'm just glad you're better now." _He said kindly gaining a trust in Kenji. _"All because of you, man." _Kenji said with positive thoughts.

Yu held up his wrist and quickly looked at the minute and hour hands of his watch, slowly getting up from the bench and looking back at Kenji. _"Sorry Kenji, I've gotta go now." _He said as he picked his bag up. _"That's okay man." _Kenji started. _"We should meet up sometime...hey, what's your number?" _Kenji took out his phone and so did Yu, pressing a few buttons to input their new contact numbers.

They put their phones back in their pockets and gave a heartfelt farewell before Yu made his way towards the Summer Festival with thoughts in his head asking himself if he will ever see Kenji again.

As the sun was rising to it's highest peak and shining it's brightest radiance, Yu just reached the small bridge that connected the two islands. His feet were starting to ache from the long walk, so he decided to sit at the edge of the bridge. As he was sitting down, he hung his feet over the edge to relieve some of the aching while his backside was boiling from the hot wood that was made by the blazing heat of the sun.

He looked into the cold water that stood calmly still below him, looking at his reflection and correcting any mistakes in his look. He took his time to look at the large city in the distance, seeing the tall buildings and small trees along the river that made up Iwatodai.

After a long while of taking in the breathtaking view, Yu's cell phone started to ring. He quickly reached into his pocket and took out his phone, pressing a single button to accept the call. He put it against his ear, speaking his greeting into the phone.

"_Hello?" _Yu greeted the caller, noticing that he forgot to check the caller ID. _"Hi Senpai!" _The caller's voice was of Rise's. _"Are you nearly at the concert yet?" _She asked sweetly yet impatiently. Yu turned his head to find that the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital was in sight and so was the large stage that stood at its entrance. Both of these things were only a short distance away.

"_I can see the stage from here. I'm just a short walk away from you." _Yu explained as he slowly stood up from edge of the bridge. _"Yay! Okay, but get here before the others do!" _Rise warned Yu playfully. He was slightly confused when she told him about the 'others'.

"_Others?" _Yu asked. _"What others?" _Rise giggled at his confusion. _"You know..." _Yu thought for a moment, but it didn't take long for him to realise that she was talking about the rest of the gang.

"_Did you invite Yosuke and the others?" _Yu asked, feeling slightly disappointed. _"Yeah, why not? Didn't you wanna see them?" _Rise asked him as if the confusion had been passed through the phone. _"Yeah I do want to see them again..." _He paused. _"...But I was kinda hoping that we would spend time with each other alone." _He sounded adorable to Rise and she giggled again in admiration.

"_Aww, don't worry Senpai. I told them to come fifteen minutes later, so we'll have plenty of time alone." _She reassured him with a soft voice. Yu couldn't help but smile. _"I love you." _Yu told her in both meaning and gratitude.

Rise gave another sweet giggle before saying those words back to him. _"I love you __more, Senpai!" _She shouted into the phone, excited. They both said their goodbyes on the phone and hung up, again leaving a long silence to see who would hang up first.

As Yu put his phone back in his pocket, he started to power-walk down the bridge, taking huge lunging steps closer to his destination. The happy thoughts of seeing Rise again continued to flow into Yu's mind, creating more and more thoughts to further grow his smile.

After a long few minutes had passed, he was finally there, standing and gazing at the towering glory of the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital that was lit up by multicoloured lights that were created by the lighting department in the large stage that stood magnificently in front of it.

Yu fixated his eyes on the stage as he made his way towards the back of the stage, where a small door was situated with a sign on top of it saying in big letters, 'Back-Stage'. He walked up to the two security guards that stood between with hands behind their backs and sunglasses to make them look the part.

Once Yu took out his ticket, one of the security guards checked the ticket very carefully, lifting his sunglasses to reveal his squinting eyes. The guard rested his sunglasses again and went back into his stance, giving a nod to Yu.

He opened the door and closed it behind him, looking around the room, seeing the radiant whiteness bounce around its light in a glamorous effect. He walked down a small corridor and turned a corner seeing more white furniture fill the room in beauty.

To the right of him was Rise, looking in a large mirror with light-bulbs surrounding it, posing different facial expressions with her beautiful face that was brightened with a light amount of make-up. Yu's heart raced as his face turned a bit red.

Rise was looking at a treasured picture of Yu and her that sat next to the mirror, shining in a bright light-bulb. Yu looked at the picture from afar and noticed that there were also lipstick marks on the picture where he was.

She sighed. _"Yu, when are you getting here?" _She sounded desperate for him to come any second, so Yu stepped out from the corner in a corny gesture. _"Ms. Kujikawa, there's someone here to see you." _He said playfully. Rise looked into the mirror and saw Yu in the corner of it, causing her head to rapidly turn around with a look a surprise.

A large smile grew on her face. _"Senpai!" _She shouted as she jumped out of her chair, sprinting to him and throwing her arms around his neck. Yu nearly fell over from the impact, but he regained his balance and wrapped his arms around her waist in a romantic embrace.

She buried half of her face comfortably in his chest, underneath his chin and he rested his chin on her head. Yu lifted his head slightly and kissed the top of Rise's head. As Yu did this, Rise heard his heartbeat rush through his shirt, so she decided to do the same. She lifted her head and softly kissed him on one side of his neck.

They slightly broke away from the hug, keeping each other's arms around each other, looking deeply in one another's eyes. _"I missed you so much! Why did you leave me in the first place?" _Rise said in a mockingly angry voice, even though she kept her smile on. _"I'm here now, with you..." _Yu quietly said, looking around him afterwards. _"...alone." _He finally said in a quieter voice.

Rise's face became red, blushing harder and harder. _"C'mere you..." _said an embarrassed Rise, moving her hand to the back of Yu's neck. She gently pulled his head closer to hers, slowly moving into a passionate kiss that was waiting to happen for a long time.

For the last fifteen minutes, they shared their tender moments with each other, reminiscing the moments that they had together from the start of when they first met, to the time when Yu took his train back home. Rise also talked about what happened after he left, mostly saying that nothing was same that only she was missing him more and more with every day passing.

"_I've missed this...having you here..." _Rise whispered to Yu as she rested her forehead against his. _"I've missed it all..." _He whispered back to her laying a soft hand on her rosy cheek.

Suddenly, the back-stage door was heard creaking open, followed by familiar voices that made Yu and Rise jump at how close they were. _"And what happened to ladies first?" _a female voice sternly said. _"Oh yeah, like you act lady-like!" _shouted a male voice.

"_It's already been fifteen minutes?" _Rise whispered alarmingly, breaking away from each other's embrace with an even more embarrassed look. Yu quickly looked into the mirror that stood behind him, trying to act natural. As he looked into the reflection, he stared at the corridor, seeing a few familiar people slowly walk in. As Rise scurried to Yu's side, they all looked at him with a beaming smile lighting up on their faces.

The first one to come in was rough boy who was very tall for his age. He owns a swept-back crewcut which was of a beach-blonde colour. He wore black jeans with a thick belt wrapped around his waist along with a slightly baggy vest that had a skull-and-cross-bone on the front of it. He had a scar above his left eye and he had metal jewellery worn on his fingers and wrists. He was Kanji Tatsumi.

The second was also a boy but was shorter than the first, even though he was the same age as Yu. Upon walking in, Yu remembered that he was the clumsy one of the group. He owned slightly unkempt brownish hair along with a huge pair of headphones that he wore around his neck. He also wore a t-shirt that was white, but had orange sleeves, along with a slim-fitting pair of jeans and a pair of dirty trainers. Yu knew that he was Yosuke Hanamura.

The third to come in was an upbeat girl who seemed to have come in a bit irritated. Yu thought it was because of Yosuke's actions again. She had short brown hair and always wore her green jersey wherever she went, but she didn't seem to wear it on a hot day. But she did wear a yellow tank top with a pair of thigh-high jeans and flip-flops to complete the summer look. She tried to stay upbeat most of the time and that kind of personality could only come from Chie Satonaka.

The next person to walk in was a slightly shy girl who had her hands held behind her back, walking in a lady-like fashion. She had long black hair with a red hair-band holding it together along with a red tank top that had lovely red flower blossoms on her shoulder-straps. She also wore a short frilly skirt that hung down to her knees and she wore a pair of small-sized flip-flops. Yu remembered clearly that she was Yukiko Amagi.

Another girl was with them, but oddly, she dressed like a boy. She had short blue hair that was mostly hidden under an officer's cap that contributed to the masculine fashion. Making it more believable, she also wore a buttoned turquoise shirt with a pale yellow tie around the collar in a formal style. Even though it was summer, she wore black trousers along with formal shoes to go with it. She was the 'Detective Prince', Naoto Shirogane.

And the last person to walk in was a funny figure that Yu remembered very well. He had golden-blonde hair that was swept to the right, as if a large gale blew it sideways. He wore the same white flirty-styled shirt that had a small rose in his left side pocket. Nothing more was to be said of who he was, because Yu knew that he was Teddie.

"_Sensei? Is that you?" _Teddie shouted in disbelief, gazing his widened eyes upon his long-missed friend. _"Yeah Teddie, I'm back." _Yu calmly said to Teddie, who seemed like he was nearly ready to cry, pulling comical faces to try and hold back his tears.

"_Rise did tell us that there would be a surprise when we got here. Man, this is the biggest surprise since my birthday!" _Yosuke said, trying to keep his cool, yet still showing some signs of clumsiness by just looking at Yu.

"_I'm so glad that you're back Yu! We were all so bored out of minds!" _Chie said after, standing in her confident position. _"Yeah, nothing felt the same without you..." _Yukiko said loudly, making gestures to emphasise how much she missed Yu.

"_Now with Senpai back, the whole gangs back together. And we're all at a concert! The party starts here!" _Kanji shouted, echoing his over-the-top voice off of the walls. Yu looked at everyone with a large smile. _"You really missed me that much?" _He asked, close to embarrassment.

"_I cried for two days because you weren't with us Senpai, doesn't that explain it enough?" _Rise said softly to Yu, wrapping her arms around him afterwards. Yu wrapped one arm around her and used the other to scratch his head in flattery.

"_So Yu, what brings you to Iwatodai?" _Naoto asked him with a curious look. _"I came here to see Rise's concert, apparently as a surprise for you all." _He began. _"After that, I'm coming back to Inaba with you guys." _Everyone heard his words clearly, giving gobsmacks and wide smiles as their reaction.

"_Aww sweet! For how long?" _Yosuke asked him excitedly in a goofy manner, making Chie's eyes roll. _"Until my Uncle Ryotaro finishes with the case that's come up." _Yu answered, making a blank face as he thought back to Kenji. _"Is that gonna be a long time then?" _Kanji asked eagerly. Yu only answered with a brief shrug. _"Well, let's hope so!" _Yukiko reassured everyone.

After a long while of chat, a chaperone bursts into the room with a speaker plugged into his ear. _"Rise, you're on now." _He said calmly. _"Oh shoot! I better get on!" _Rise shouted as her nerves started to kick in. She turned to Yu and turned her voice into a whisper. _"Will you cheer for me?" _She asked him with a blush reddening her cheeks. _"With every lyric you sing." _Yu whispered back to her with a reassuring smile. Before Rise ran on-stage, she gave a wink to Yu, giving him an unsubtle kiss on the cheek afterwards.

"_Whoo! Is something going on between you and Rise, Yu?" _Yosuke asked him mockingly. _"You could say that..." _Yu answered him, acting like he has nothing to hide. _"Nice one dude!" _Kanji congratulated. They all then left it at that, and turned to watch Rise.

The crowds shouted and applauded loudly as Rise ran onto the stage, watching her give them blowing kisses. She ran up to the microphone. _"How's it going Iwatodai?" _She screamed, making the audiences shouts louder as they heard her from the speakers. The band behind her got their instruments ready and nodded to her, to say that they were set.

Rise made her preparation by standing at the microphone as the song began to play.

* * *

><p><em>Promise This – Cheryl Cole<em>

_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette, plumerai l'aile_

_In my beginning there was nothing,  
><em>_So empty in the space between,  
><em>_Then you came in, turned the lights on,  
><em>_And created what it's came to be_

_Before i pluck your wings, cover me please,  
><em>_Spread your wings, cover me and..._

_Promise this, if i die before i wake,  
><em>_Oh promise this, take a time to say your grace,  
><em>_On your knees you pray for me,  
><em>_Promise this, be the last to kiss my lips_

_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette. déployer l'aile  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette, plumerai l'aile_

_Though i'm walking, through the shadows,  
><em>_You are with me, and you comfort me,  
><em>_Lay me down now, time for sleeping,  
><em>_But before that, would you miss on me_

_Before i pluck your wings, cover me please,  
><em>_Spread your wings, cover me and..._

_Promise this, if i die before i wake,  
><em>_Oh promise this, take a time to say your grace,  
><em>_On your knees you pray for me,  
><em>_Promise this, be the last to kiss my lips_

_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette, déployer l'aile  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette,  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette, plumerai l'aile_

_By a thread we're hanging on,  
><em>_In the hope you don't let go,  
><em>_If you ever leave me no,  
><em>_I wanna go with you_

_Promise this, if i die before i wake,  
><em>_Oh promise this, take a time to say your grace,  
><em>_On your knees you pray for me,  
><em>_Promise this, be the last to kiss my lips_

_Alouette-uette-uette  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette, déployer l'aile  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette  
><em>_Alouette-uette-uette, plumerai l'aile_

_Alouette déployer les ailes,  
><em>_Alouette plumerai les ailes_

* * *

><p>The large amount of people who witnessed Rise's return, clapped, cheered and shouted her name in awe as she took a bow. Even the gang were amazed, cheering her on from the wings in support. They looked out at the audience and found that the large amount of people that stood out there started to grow significantly in number.<p>

Rise took the time to glance over at an impressed Yu, who gave her a thumbs up with both hands. She gave a cheeky smile at him, making a heart shape out of her fingers in thanks.

She walked up to the microphone, looking towards her band. The drummer behind the Drum Kit gave a few clicks of his sticks to show that everyone was ready for the second song.

As the song started to play, the audience's shouts grew louder as Rise put her lips to the microphone.

* * *

><p><em>Bulletproof – La Roux<em>

_|Intro|_

_Been there, done that, messed around,  
><em>_I'm having fun, don't put me down,  
><em>_I'll never let you sweep me off my feet_

_I won't let you in again,  
><em>_The messages I've tried to send,  
><em>_My information's just not going in_

_Burning bridges shore to shore,  
><em>_I'll break away from something more,  
><em>_I'm not to not to love until it's cheap_

_Been there, done that, messed around,  
><em>_I'm having fun, don't put me down,  
><em>_I'll never let you sweep me off my feet_

_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof,  
><em>_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof_

_I won't let you turn around,  
><em>_And tell me now I'm much too proud,  
><em>_To walk away from something when it's dead_

_Do do do your dirty words,  
><em>_Come out to play when you are heard,  
><em>_There's certain things that should be left unsaid_

_Tick tick tick tick on the watch,  
><em>_And life's too short for me to stop,  
><em>_Oh baby, your time is running out_

_I won't let you turn around,  
><em>_And tell me now I'm much too proud,  
><em>_All you do is fill me up with doubt_

_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof,  
><em>_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof,  
><em>_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof,  
><em>_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof  
><em>_This time, I'll be bulletproof,  
><em>_This time, I'll be bulletproof_

_|Instrumental|_

_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof,  
><em>_This time baby, I'll be bulletproof  
><em>_This time baby, this time baby,  
><em>_This time baby, this time  
><em>_This time baby, this time baby,  
><em>_This time baby, this time_

_|Outro|_

* * *

><p>After the second song, and even louder cheer came from the audience as it filled Iwatodai's fresh air with the Rise's name. The gang made another supportive cheer for her, clapping and sometimes stomping the floor.<p>

Rise gave a sly wink to the group before walking up to the microphone. Instead of starting another song, she spoke into it.

"_Do you guys wanna meet my friends?" _She shouted to the crowd, instantly getting a cheery response of agreement and excitement. _"Er...what...?" _Yosuke asked rhetorically, afraid of what might happen next. _"Sh-She means her fans right?" _Kanji asked nervously, also having the fearful thoughts that Yosuke had. Yu knew her plan, but didn't feel any feeling of nervousness whatsoever.

Rise gave one last wink to the audience before running offstage into the wings where the gang was, only to find that Yosuke and Kanji weren't there with the girls. _"Hey, where did the other two go?" _Rise asked Yu. _"Don't tell her!" _Yosuke whispered a shout, unsubtly giving his location away. _"Shut up! They'll hear us dammit!" _whispered Kanji, who also blew his cover.

Chie walked over to a clothes rack and drew some clothe-hangers apart, revealing a shaken Yosuke and Kanji. They were both taken by surprise. _"Oh, hey Chie!" _Yosuke said to her with a wobbly tone.

"_C'mon, you chickens!" _Chie ordered the two, grabbing them by their shirts and taking them over to Rise. Once they were taken to her, Chie still didn't let go. _"Rise, don't make me go on the stage!" _Yosuke pleaded. _"I-I...get stage-fright! Yeah, that's it!" _Kanji claimed, not making his reason so convincing.

"_Guys, it's just a couple of songs." _Yu began confidently. _"We get to pick them as well." _After hearing that they could play any song they wanted, both Yosuke and Kanji calmed down a bit. When Chie saw this, she let go of their crumpled shirts.

"_Really? Oh thank god for that! I thought you were gonna make up sing girly songs or something!" _Yosuke spoke his thoughts in relief. He quickly grabbed a pair of drumsticks that were laid out on a white desk and readied them in each hand. Yu walked over to a guitar and picked it up, wrapping the strap over his shoulder and tuning it to his liking. And lastly, Kanji picked up a bass guitar and did the same as Yu did.

The three boys huddled up to agree on which song they were going to play first and second. But before they decided, they looked around them, seeing that no-one else joined in with them. _"You guys aren't playing with us?" _Kanji asked the girls.

"_Well, I can play the keyboard, but I don't think it will fit well with your choice of songs..." _Naoto told them truthfully. _"Yeah, and I don't think trumpets and saxophones would fit well either..." _Yukiko said honestly. _"Oh, um...okay then." _Yosuke said as his nerves started to act up again.

They huddled up again and quickly chose the two songs they wanted to play. _"You guys ready?" _Rise asked the boys with confidence in her smile. _"Yeah, bring it on!" _Kanji shouted in preparation.

Rise then turned to Yu. _"Amaze me..." _She softly said to him. _"I will..." _Yu answered her order with a smile. _"Then go get 'em!" _Rise shouted to the other two.

The three boys went into a line and shouted a countdown. _"Ready...Set..." _Yosuke said the first two words slowly, and left the last word for even longer. _"...Go!" _On that one word, they ran onto the stage with adrenaline pumping in their blood.

The audience gave a loud roar of cheers and applause upon seeing the three enter the stage. Yosuke gave a few quick waves to the crowd before sitting behind the Drum Kit. Yu and Kanji set up their guitar equipment with ease and quickly got to the show on the move in no time.

With his guitar in hand, Yu ran up to the microphone which Rise used. _"Iwatodai!" _He shouted to the audience, making them all shout the name of their city back to them. _"You ready for this?" _He asked rhetorically into the microphone, only to get a loud response. He looked at the crowd, finding that the number has grown yet again by a magnificent amount.

And with that, Kanji walked up to his microphone and Yosuke set up his as they started to play their first song. Yu felt a surge of excitement as he was about to sing his first lyrics into the microphone.

* * *

><p><em>Welcome To Paradise – Green Day<em>

_|Intro|_

_Dear Mother, can you hear me whining?  
><em>_It's been three whole weeks since that I have left your home  
><em>_This sudden fear has left me trembling,  
><em>_'Cause now it seems that I am out here on my own,  
><em>_And I'm feeling so alone..._

_Pay attention to the cracked streets,  
><em>_And the broken homes,  
><em>_Some call it the slums,  
><em>_Some call it nice_

_I want to take you through a wasteland,  
><em>_I like to call my home...  
><em>_Welcome to paradise_

_A gunshot rings out at the station,  
><em>_Another urchin snaps and left dead on his own  
><em>_It makes me wonder why I'm still here,  
><em>_For some strange reason it's now f__eeling like my home,  
><em>_And I'm never gonna go..._

_Pay attention to the cracked streets,  
><em>_And the broken homes,  
><em>_Some call it slums,  
><em>_Some call it nice_

_I want to take you through a wasteland,  
><em>_I like to call my home...  
><em>_Welcome to paradise_

_|Instrumental|_

_Dear Mother, can you hear my laughing?  
><em>_It's been six whole months since that I have left your home  
><em>_It makes me wonder why I'm still here,  
><em>_For some strange reason it's now f__eeling like my home,  
><em>_And I'm never gonna go..._

_Pay attention to the cracked streets,  
><em>_And the broken homes,  
><em>_Some call it the slums,  
><em>_Some call it nice_

_I want to take you through a wasteland,  
><em>_I like to call my home...  
><em>_Welcome to paradise_

_Oh paradise..._

_|Outro|_

* * *

><p>With the third song completed, the familiar roar of praise once again erupted from the lungs of the audience. More applauses and more cheers were given to the boys, and more shouts were heard for an encore, just as they planned.<p>

"_We'll play one more for you then." _Yu spoke into the microphone, causing a few shouts from individuals and groups to be heard from the large crowd. They got their instruments ready for the next song and started to play their final song.

* * *

><p><em>Life Is A Highway – Rascal Flatts<em>

_|Intro|_

_Life's a road that you travel on,  
><em>_There's one day here and the next day gone,  
><em>_Sometimes you bend, sometimes you stand,  
><em>_Sometimes you turn your back to the wind_

_There's a world outside every darkened door,  
><em>_Where Blues won't haunt you anymore,  
><em>_Where the brave are free and lovers soar,  
><em>_Come ride with me to the distant shore_

_We won't hesitate,  
><em>_To break down the guarding gate,  
><em>_There's not much time left today, yeah_

_Life is a highway,  
><em>_I wanna ride it all night long  
><em>_If you're going my way,  
><em>_I wanna drive it all night long_

_Through all these cities and all these towns,  
><em>_It's in my blood and it's all around,  
><em>_I love you now like I loved you then,  
><em>_This is the road and these are the hands_

_From Mozambique to those Memphis nights,  
><em>_The Khyber Pass to Vancouver's lights,  
><em>_They knock me down and back up again,  
><em>_You're in my blood I'm not a lonely man_

_There's no load I can't hold,  
><em>_The road's so rough this I know,  
><em>_I'll be there when the light comes in,  
><em>_Just tell 'em we're survivors_

_Life is a highway,  
><em>_I wanna ride it all night long  
><em>_If you're going my way,  
><em>_I wanna drive it all night long (All night long)_

_Gimme Gimme Gimme Gimme, yeah_

_Life is a highway,  
><em>_I wanna ride it all night long,  
><em>_If you're going my way, (If you're going my way)  
><em>_I wanna drive it all night long (All night long)_

_There was a distance between you and I, (Between you and I)  
><em>_A misunderstanding once,  
><em>_But now, we look it in the eye_

_Ooooo, yeah!_

_|Instrumental|_

_There ain't no load that I can't hold,  
><em>_The road's so rough this I know,  
><em>_I'll be there when the light comes in,  
><em>_Tell 'em we're survivors_

_(Life is a highway, I wanna ride it all night long)  
><em>_All night long, yeah  
><em>_(If you're going my way, I wanna drive it)  
><em>_All night long_

_Life is a highway,  
><em>_I wanna ride it all night long  
><em>_If you're going my way,  
><em>_I wanna drive it all night long (All night long)_

_Life is a highway,  
><em>_I wanna ride it all night long  
><em>_If you're going my way,  
><em>_I wanna drive it all night long  
><em>_All night long..._

_|Outro|_

* * *

><p>The final song was finished, and the three got a standing-ovation as the crowd stood up from their deck-chairs and sun-bathing towels to applaud and cheer them on. The gang that waited in the wings were also roaring with the crowd. <em>"Thank you Iwatodai! We wish you a good summer!" <em>Yu shouted as a farewell, waving to the audience as the three ran offstage, back to the gang.

As they ran into the wings, they instantly took off their instruments and gave everyone a high-five as congratulations. Rise ran up to Yu and immediately wrapped her arms around him after he took the guitar off of his shoulders.

Rise heard his heartbeat beating faster and faster, even though he rushed adrenaline through his body to perform in front of a live crowd. They slightly broke away from the hug to look at each other.

"_Yu, you have an amazing voice..." _Rise complimented him with blushes surfacing on her cheeks. _"I hoped you'd like it...but it doesn't compete against yours." _Yu said in relief, returning the compliment.

They stayed back-stage for another few minutes before making their way towards the train station that was situated . Everyone seemed tired after the amount of applauding they did for each other.

Over a long period of time, the walked over the Moonlight Bridge and walked a bit further to reach Paulownia Mall, where Yu went to buy Nanako's souvenir. All of the shops in the mall didn't have anything that would seem to please her.

"_Hmm..." _Naoto hummed. _"Something on your mind?" _Kanji asked her, curious to know if it was anything to do with Nanako's gift. _"Do they sell Jack-Frost Dolls here? Knowing Nanako, she would love a plush doll." _She deducted.

"_They don't sell them, but they do have them as a prize in that crane game over by that 'Game Panic'." _Yosuke said, pointing over to the crane game that sat next to the entrance of an arcade store.

Everyone hurried over, and stared through the glass, finding a pile full of Jack-Frost Dolls waiting to be won inside the game. _"Well, it's for Nanako." _Yu said thoughtfully, digging in his pocket for two-hundred yen.

He gave the crane the correct amount of money and took a hold of the joystick, moving it around to try and find an easy grab. Fortunately, he found one doll in the far corner and moved the crane over.

He observed the crane carefully trying to predict it's exact position. When everything was to his liking, Yu pressed the large button on the right of him, causing the crane to slowly drop, opening it's claws as it gradually came down onto the doll.

It was a successful grab, but everyone's hopes came up for the next part. The crane held the body the best it could, lifting it up and ready to move it over to the hole in the prize hole.

As the crane made it's way to the hole, the doll suddenly slipped out of the claws, managing to keep the doll's head inside the claws grip. Everyone made a jolt of shock when the doll's body slipped out, making large gasps and gestures.

The head of the doll was starting the slip, and only words of hope were the only things that could keep the doll inside the grip. _"C'mon, nearly there..." _Yosuke said to himself, hoping that no one would have to pay another two-hundred yen.

The claw was just a couple of inches away from the prize hole, and hat of Jack-Frost was just a hair away from freeing itself from the claw. Suddenly, the claws couldn't keep a hold of the doll and Jack-Frost began to fall.

Everyone made another jolt but reassured themselves as the doll's fall was broken by one of the hole's walls. Jack-Frost balanced on the wall for a long time, making everyone talk to the doll, ordering and commanding it to fall into the hole. The doll was stuck there, with no way that it would fall either way.

"_Aww man! Who's paying this time?" _Chie asked, mining in her pockets to try and find some yen, which she couldn't find. Everyone else dug into every pocket they had only to find sweet wrappers as well as thread and cotton from their trousers. Even Yu couldn't find the right money.

Kanji walked up to the crane game and looked at the doll with a serious look, as if the doll taunted him. _"Just when we got no money!" _He shouted, slamming his fist down onto the panel.

Everyone then stared at the doll with a shocked look on their faces. Kanji heard their gasps, quickly looking back to the doll. It's balance failed as it fell into the hole, causing siren bells and jingles to echo throughout the mall.

"_Good thinking, Kanji!" _Yukiko commented, praising Kanji. _"Heh, I didn't mean to do it, but I'm glad I did it." _Kanji said with a cheeky grin on his face.

Yu reached into the small prize hole just below the glass and pulled out the Jack-Frost Doll, imagining it being with Nanako. _"You're right Naoto, she will love this." _He said to Naoto, as if he was grateful for the idea.

He then took a brief moment to look at his watch. _"Let's get to the train station now, my uncle's expecting me to be back in Inaba in the next hour." _Yu explained. _"All right then partner, lead the way!" _Yosuke said, following Yu towards the exit.

After a short few minutes of walking, they finally reached the station. They walked towards the ticket office, only for Kanji to realise something crucial. _"Hey wait a minute, we don't have any yen!" _Kanji shouted in worry.

Yu calmed him down almost immediately. _"Don't worry Kanji, I already bought some tickets for us before coming here." _He assured Kanji, giving him his ticket along with the others. _"That's some common-sense you have there, Senpai." _He said with a friendly smile.

After going through a few gates and a few security checks, they finally reached the train to Inaba. Rise walked over to Yu's side, hugging his arm and resting her chin on his shoulder. _"Ready to come back?" _She asked him with soft eyes and voice. _"Of course I am. Ready when you are." _He said back to her, using the arm that Rise was hugging to hug her waist as they walk through the doors with everyone else.

As they both sat down next to each other, Yu looked into Rise's eyes, seeing that she looked very tired. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, letting her head rest on Yu's shoulder. She entwined her fingers in his and laid their hands on her lap. _"Tired, huh?" _He asked her with a grin. _"Yeah...but at least, the first thing I get to see when I wake up is you." _She said croakily. Soon enough, she fell fast asleep, snuggling herself up to his body.

The sight of Rise sleeping encouraged Yu to do the same. He rested his head against hers softly and kept their hands held gently together. He slowly dropped his eyelids, and spent the rest of the exhausted hour with his sleeping Rise.

**I did not think the first chapter would be this long! But at least it's a start! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and I will see you later! CYA!**


	2. A Broken Sister

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Two_

_A Broken Sister_

**Hey there guys! First off, sorry for the long update! Now, as you may have guessed, and knew, the winning answer in the last poll was Rise...sorry Naoto fans! Anyway, I've got no announcements to make so...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

* * *

><p><em>0729 - Late Night_

* * *

><p>The rushing sounds of the speeding train finally started to fade away as Yu's subconscious began to flow into a peaceful slumber. Although he lost all feeling in his limbs and nerves as he started to doze off, the sensation of sitting down still remained. Even the sounds didn't stop, but they weren't from the train. Yu, even though in his sleep, listened intently to the sounds. It sounded like it came from a car. <em>"Mm...Huh?" <em>He muttered exhaustedly.

His tired and droopy eyes opened slowly, revealing the strange familiar features that were presented before him. He looked around, finding that he was in some sort of room inside, what he thought was a limo. Everything around him radiated light and dark shades of blue, navy and cyan, especially the furniture on which he sat on. Outside the clean windows was a thick mist that shone a magnificent light from the front of the car as it drove further and further. But the first thing he noticed when he opened his eyes into a squint, was the two figures that sat opposite him.

* * *

><p><em>0729 - Afternoon - The Velvet Room_

* * *

><p>He didn't need to observe them to know that they were familiar, only to remember perfectly who they are. The first was a small frail man who sat hunched with his arms supporting his chin as his hands were clasped together in a gentleman's manner. He had white hair that only grew around his bald scalp and his eyes were widened, revealing the bloodshot tirelessness around his pupils. The tuxedo that he wore seemed crumpled and messy, but it was very clean all the same. He owned a long nose that would resemble a parrot's beak and even though his smile seemed wicked at first glance, Yu remembered that he was the gentleman who assisted him throughout his last mystery. <em>"Igor?" <em>Yu asked him, getting a warm smile as a response.

Yu turned his head towards the other figure. She was a slender young lady, whose face always looked beautiful despite the tireless assistance she did for Yu last time he came to this place. She had long blonde hair that curled from behind her head and it was all held together by a blue hairband that snuggled perfectly into her soft hair. She wore a purplish-blue coat that had large ringed buttons stitched into it as well as a belt of the same colour that wrapped around her stomach comfortably. She wore black tights that covered every inch of her legs along with a pair of purple high heels that pointed slightly at the toes. On her lap was a large tome containing countless numbers of pages. These features were all observed in a quick glance especially the bright red lipstick that she wore on her small lips. Yu remembered her name perfectly. _"Margaret..." _He called her name in disbelief.

Margaret was just as surprised as Yu was, leaning her body forwards slightly to get a closer look of him. _"What...?" _She questioned, baffled by the sight of Yu. Strangely, she felt happy that he returned, but she didn't want to believe it. She turned to Igor who still had a warm smile on his face.

"_Welcome to the Velvet Room." _Igor welcomed Yu for a second time. _"Well, this is most surprising...or rather, intriguing." _Hearing those words from Igor made Yu more confused as to why he has entered the Velvet Room. _"As you may have guessed, you are currently in a dream. Have you remembered to keep your key safe?" _He asked Yu.

Yu reached into his back pocket, pulling out something that he hadn't taken notice of, for a while. It was a key that radiated the same colour as the furniture in a enigmatic glow. The Velvet Key. _"I guess I have..." _Yu said to Igor, wondering as to how the key appeared in his pocket.

"_Sir..." _Margaret got Igor's attention. _"How is this possible? Our assistance with him is done, the contract has been fulfilled..." _She explained to him, just as confused as Yu was.

Igor gave a chuckle of interest. _"This unexpected visit only means that a gap has extended his fate. The contract has yet to completed." _Yu overheard everything and started to speak up. _"Igor, what's going on? What do you mean by an 'extended fate'?" _Yu asked, leaning forward in his seat. Igor turned to him.

"_It means that there is another 'turning point' in your future. The truth that you have recently discovered is only one of the many truths that are concealed throughout your life." _He explained to him. Margaret then turned to him, putting on a serious face. She seemed to have understood it all.

"_You are the first case we've ever had to obtain this destiny. Though there is no telling what the truths will bring." _Margaret said, as if she met Yu for the first time.

A pause loomed its silence in the air for a short while before Igor placed five tarot cards on the table that stood in front of him. Without touching them, he shuffled the cards in every random direction, placing them back down onto the table when he was finished. With a gradual swing of his wrist, two of the cards were flipped over and Igor collected his thoughts and words as he looked at those cards with a crooked smile.

"_Now, from what I can tell from the cards, the course of your journey will carry you throughout familiar ventures, yet these ventures will delve you deeper towards a new truth, towards something entirely different to your last excursions." _Igor said wisely. Yu tried to follow but only returning to his confused state. _"Something familiar...will lead me towards something different?" _He asked him, putting on a face of full concentration to his hard thinking.

"_I'll try and best explain the situation..." _Igor said as he lowered his head in deep thought, trying to collect the right words. He lifted his head again. _"In other words, the elements will remain the same along your path. It could be the surroundings or the companions you travel with. And then there's the difference..." _Igor seemed lost in thought, unable to gather the right sentences. _"I'm afraid, it could mean anything...it would be best if you were to uncover the answer yourself." _Yu nodded to Igor, sinking in the knowledge, starting to understand little by little about what he was trying to say.

He looked over to Margaret who gave a little chuckle to his limited knowledge. _"I'm sure you'll understand it as time runs its course." _She said to him, giving him a heartfelt smile to say that she was happy to speak with him again. _"It's good to be back." _Yu said with a relaxed voice, returning the smile to Margaret.

"_I shouldn't keep you here any longer." _Igor said as his crooked smile returned to his wrinkled face. _"'Til we meet again..." _As he bid Yu his farewell, he began to feel drowsy and tired, shutting his eyelids closed and returning to his slumber peacefully.

* * *

><p><em>0730 - Midnight - The Real World_

* * *

><p>A long pause filled his subconscious before he heard the rushing movement of the train along the tracks. He slowly opened his eyes, suddenly squinting them from the bright lights that were lined along the ceiling of the train. All he saw out of the windows were nothing but blackness, knowing that the train entered a tunnel. He found the feeling in his nerves and limbs again, feeling his hand entwined in Rise's fingers.<p>

He looked down at her head, seeing it still laid down on his shoulder. She shuffled slightly, keeping her mind immersed in her dreams. _"Sen...pai..." _She said quietly in her sleep, making Yu chuckle softly in adoration.

Yu looked towards the seats opposite him and found Yosuke, Chie and Kanji also asleep. Yosuke's head was laid on Chie's shoulder and her head was laid on his, only making Yu laugh quietly at the irony of those two sleeping so close together. Kanji took more than one seat to sleep easily on a train, laying his back down on three seats with one of his legs dangling over the edge of them. His foot was dragging along the floor every time the train hits a bump in the tracks.

After watching them relax in their uncomfortable positions, he looked at the others that were also sleeping next to them. On his left was Naoto who was sleeping in a neat lounge position, crossing her arms in her slumber. Her officer's cap was covering her eyes as her head dangled over the edge of the seat.

Next to her was Teddie who was probably sleeping in the most uncomfortable sleeping position so far. Like Kanji, he slept on more than one seat, but the difference was that he was laying on his front with his head laying on the plastic part of the seat. His arms and legs were spread out across the place. One arm and one leg were hanging from the edge of the seats and he started drooling on his other hand. And on top of all that, he snored like the bear he was, nearly making noises louder than the train.

And on Yu's right was Yukiko who was sleeping one seat away from him. She slept like a child, laying in an awkward position on just one seat. Her body was curled up into a ball, as her arms were hidden by her bent legs, snuggling half of her face in the cushion of the seat.

Watching the others sleeping around him, only made him more and more drowsy, yet unable to get another wink of sleep. Feeling refreshed and stiff, Yu looked up towards a small TV that was bolted into the thick plastic on the ceiling. The news was being shown, and a small picture of Minato Arisato appeared clearly in a small corner of the screen, making Yu very curious.

He couldn't the news-presenter's voice over the train, so he carefully slipped out of his seat, trying his best not to wake Rise up. Luckily, he was able to free himself from Rise, knowing that she was a heavy sleeper.

As he walked towards the small TV, he stretched his arms, legs and body to relieve the stiff parts in his muscles. He walked closer and closer to the TV until he could hear the news-presenter perfectly. Yu gave his full attention.

"_-earlier today, Gekkoukan High School student, Minato Arisato's body has been reported missing as it was not found in its usual place on the patient bed at the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital..." _Yu's reaction turned to utter shock as the Autocue was read out by the presenter. _"What? How can that...?" _He muttered to himself, anxious to know what the presenter was going to say next.

"_The Inaba Police have made their decision to postpone the investigation of the cause of the young man's death and undergo their latest investigation of the whereabouts of his body and how it became missing..." _Yu listened to the news with all ears, baffled and shocked in disbelief.

"_Huh? How...? Why did..."_ Yu muttered his incomplete questions, unsure of how the phrase them. Before he could get close to an answer, the lights on the train were suddenly shut off, reducing all visible light sources from sight. The whole train was plunged in the darkness of the tunnel, which worried Yu greatly as his sight was completely blackened.

Even the TV's screen was shut off, losing its power along with the lights. Yu took his mind off the subject and decided to get back to his seat, being very careful with his footwork since the train was still running on the tracks at high speed.

But before he could take a couple of steps, the unexpected happened.

Suddenly, the train's brakes were instantly applied, causing sparks to fly under the carriage. And because of the drastic drop in speed, everyone fell out of their seat, only to be woken up and caught by another seat. But in Yu's situation, the giant force swept him off of his feet, causing him to hit the floor from a large distance tumbling along it, until he hit the wall with his back as the train completely came to a halt. All he could do was shout in pain once his head and back collided with a metal wall.

He sat at the wall, taking his time to recover and rubbing the side of his head with a grimacing look on his face. _"Senpai!" _shouted a shocked Rise, running up to Yu. She knelt down to him, laying one hand on one side of his face and laid the other hand on the hand that was rubbing Yu's head. _"Dude are you okay?" _Yosuke asked in a great worry. _"Yeah...I'm fine guys." _Yu reassured them, forcing a smile for them.

Rise took his hand away from his head and gave it a quick kiss, wrapping her arms around him, hoping that it would help him take his mind off the pain. A few more seconds passed in the darkness, and eventually the lights came back on, much dimmer than it was before the incident. A male's voice was then heard from the small speaker that was bolted in a corner of the carriage.

"_Apologies for the technical difficulties ladies and gentlemen, the train will be fully functional in a short while. Sorry again for any inconvenience caused."_

"_Yeah right! Sorry my ass!" _Kanji shouted at the speaker with his fist shaking to show his anger. Yu stayed sat down at the wall until the train started moving again, quickly sitting down at the nearest seat with the help of Rise and Yosuke.

"_I'm all right now guys, thanks." _Yu thanked everyone with a meaningful smile. They all smile back to him before walking to the nearest free seat, closing their eyes, trying to get back to sleep.

Rise sat back down next to Yu, looking at him with a slight worry. _"Does it still hurt?" _She asked him, putting a hand to his head and trying to find the injury. Once she found it, he grimaced. _"Yeah...but I'll be all right." _Yu answered with a quiet voice, forcing a wry smile. _"Maybe you should lay down for a little while..." _She suggested starting to blush a bit.

"_I'm really okay..." _He said persistently, trying to rub the pain away. Rise only blushed harder, knowing that he didn't realise what she was talking about. _"I was trying to make an excuse so you would lay on my lap." _Rise said softly to him with rosy cheeks heating her face.

He looked at her, slightly embarrassed at the idea, but still couldn't help but smile. _"I suppose I could do with a rest." _He said charmingly, turning his body around so he could lay his head down on Rise's lap, wrapping an arm around her waist as he laid his back down. She looked down at him, running her fingers through his smooth hair to comfort him. As his eyelids started to drop again, Rise gave a little giggle of adoration. He felt as if she was his mother comforting him as he began to fall asleep.

Eventually, his subconscious dozed off quickly into his oblivious slumber, only to feel the familiar sensation of sitting down on a sofa once again. As he opened his eyes, the radiant colours of different shades of blue filled the room, causing a mix of feelings to blossom inside Yu, ranging from surprise to confusion. He knew that he has once again entered the Velvet Room.

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><p><em>0730 - Midnight - The Velvet Room_

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><p>"<em>Huh? I'm back here?" <em>Yu asked himself, distracted by the colours of the furniture around him. He looked over at the opposite side of the room, finding that Igor wasn't sat in his place anymore. He was nowhere to be found, but Yu did find that Margaret was still sat in the same place as she would do. He then looked at the woman who was sat next to her.

She looked almost like Margaret but older and wore slightly different clothes to her. And just like Margaret, her clothes were also of a purplish-blue colour as well as the colour of her hair. The sides of her hair were longer than the length of her fringe, making it seem like a bowl-cut. She wore a cap on her head that slightly resembled a baseball cap and the coat that she wore was sleeveless and almost seemed like a dress along with a turned-up collar. There were five large buttons on her coat that were nearly the same as Margaret's and she wore dark-blue gloves that fit tightly around her fingers and wrists. Instead of tights, she wore knee-high boots that had some patches of black on it.

The woman's head was lowered in guilt and sadness, and it seemed that Margaret was trying to comfort her, putting a hand on her back and rubbing it in a circular motion. _"Sister..." _Margaret spoke, making Yu more curious as to why her sibling was here. _"My attempts were futile Margaret. The miracle was not to be..." _said the sister, holding back the choke that ached her throat.

As she turned her head to face Margaret, she caught a glimpse of Yu in the corner of her eye. Her eyes were then fixated on him, making him jump slightly. _"Oh...is this your guest?" _she asked Margaret, making her eyes narrow before turning to Yu whom she didn't notice coming in. _"Sorry I came without saying anything..." _apologised Yu, giving a weak smile.

"_Oh no, don't apologise...you are in a dream after all, it's not your fault." _Margaret assured him, giving a wry smile with weary eyes.

A long pause filled the air with silence before Margaret put on a face of realisation. _"I believe I have told you about my sister, Elizabeth..." _Margaret introduced her sister. _"...though I didn't anticipate her visit to bring back unfortunate news..." _Her expression grew less from a neutral look as she looked back at her sister.

"_Unfortunate news? What's happened?" _Yu asked, leaning forward in his seat. He was willing to listen to her sister's problems whatever they might have been. Elizabeth sighed deeply, turning her head away from him and Margaret.

Margaret knew that she didn't have the courage to tell him with the amount of despair that ached her heart. _"Remember what I told you after you fought me? It was Elizabeth who sought out to help that boy escape his fate...to help him regain his soul from the seal..." _Margaret explained for Elizabeth.

"_Did she?" _Yu asked, hoping that it was a success. But he remembered that Elizabeth came back with unfortunate news, lowering his head in thinking that he asked a stupid question.

"_You were right to call me foolish sister..." _Elizabeth said as her eyes closed. _"I was not worthy to enact the miracle...every bit of my power was used only to become a waste." _Margaret gasped at her sibling's words. _"How could you say such things?" _She raised her voice. _"I know how you feel, but he used his potential to his will..." _Her voice then returned to neutral, sighing afterwards. _"You will despise me for saying this...but you should respect his decision."_

Yu could only watch the loving feud in pain, unable to find any words. He then thought back to a certain word that Margaret mentioned about the boy. _"Forgive me for asking Margaret, but this boy...you mentioned that he used his 'potential'. Do you mean that he also possessed a Persona, and had the access to come to the Velvet Room?" _Yu asked, hoping for an answer.

Margaret turned her head towards Yu, nodding her head. _"Yes, and like you...he possessed the Wild Card ability...the ability to carry multiple Personae within your psyche." _Yu's eyes widened, quickly thinking of another question, which he thought would be painful for Elizabeth to be asked. He got up from his seat and walked over to Elizabeth, crouching down to her height and holding her hands in sympathy. Her head turned to him, but with sad eyes that still looked away.

"_You don't have to answer me if you don't want to..." _He told her, before asking his question in slight difficulty. _"But...who is this boy?" _Elizabeth's eyes closed as a tear formed in the corner of one eye, dripping down her cheek after a long pause. She took a deep breath before giving her answer.

"_Minato Arisato..." _She said very quietly, using the palm of her hand to wipe away her falling tear.

Yu gave an large gasp at the first and last name of the boy in great disbelief. _"Minato..." _He began with a shaken voice. _"He became the seal?" _He asked Margaret as he quickly turned his head to her. _"That's correct..." _She answered him, quickly being interrupted by Elizabeth.

"_It was at the time of the Promised Day..." _Elizabeth began, offering Yu a seat next to her. He sat down next to her, and started to listen intently. _"He confronted the goddess of all Shadows known as Nyx who attempted to bring about 'The Fall', two years ago." _The Fall seemed very familiar to Yu as he remembered it from his studies at high school, but didn't seem to recall anything about it happening at that time.

Elizabeth continued. _"Along with his companions, who also possessed a Persona, he defeated the Appriser who was the one responsible for calling Nyx to the earth. He returned to the Velvet Room when Nyx began to rain her destruction, where we were able to give him the power of the Universe Arcana using the bonds that he had forged with others." _Yu's jaw slightly dropped as he was told about the Universe Arcana for the first time.

"_As he returned to the battle, he was the only one who could withstand the force of Nyx' power as everyone, including his companions, were forced to the ground. He took to the skies and entered the heart of Nyx where he contained her, using the power that we bestowed upon him to perform the miracle, to save humanity from the desires of wishing for The Fall." _Elizabeth's voice started to shake as she came closer to the end. _"Unfortunately...to perform that miracle, a price had to be paid..." _Yu knew that Elizabeth was getting uncomfortable, so he stopped her.

"_To save humanity, he risked his soul to become a seal..." _Yu pieced together. Margaret then added. _"To bar Nyx away from the world and from the primordial god, Erebus." _His head shot towards Margaret, wanting to know who this god was. _"Erebus?" _He asked her.

"_Erebus is the god of darkness, who was born of human malice. In other words, he was created by the humans' wishes for The Fall to come." _Margaret finished, turning back to Elizabeth as she began to speak again.

"_And the seal...his soul has ever since been attacked by Erebus, day by day." _She added as more tears formed in her weary eyes. She tried to hold back her tears the best she could, sinking her head into her hands.

Yu put a hand on her back, rubbing it to comfort her. The feelings she showed reminded him of when he felt the same way when Nanako was on the brink of death. He gathered up his courage to retell that story to her.

"_Elizabeth, I know how you feel, I really do." _He began, taking a deep breath. _"I nearly lost my cousin before. And when her heart suddenly stopped, she lied lifeless in front of my eyes. All I wanted to do was cry. I was so devastated and so traumatised. But as time passed, her heartbeat came back and that, to me, was a miracle." _He paused for a short while before getting to his point.

"_What I'm trying to say, is that if you can believe it, even the most seemingly impossible of things can made possible. If you believe in Minato, and if the circle of friends around him did the same, the miracle is sure to happen." _Listening to the surprisingly wise words of Yu made Elizabeth's tears eventually subside. She looked at him with a weak smile, which quickly faded away.

"_Yu...his missing body..." _Elizabeth started. Yu nodded confidently as he was ready to listen to what she had to say. _"I ask of you...please find the whereabouts of his corpse..." _She requested desperately, which only made Yu more determined. _"Of course." _He replied without hesitation. The true smile then appeared on her face.

"_You remind me so much of him..." _She said with a choked tone. Yu sensed her faint happiness as he smiled back at her.

He then looked at Margaret who seemed to put on a face of worry, looking away from the two with closed eyes. _"Margaret...are you okay?" _Yu asked her, slightly confused as to why she is feeling this way. She gave no answer, only orders.

"_...My apologies for keeping you here so long. You should be getting back now." _Margaret's expression turned to serious as her tone was changed slightly. Yu shrugged it off and walked back to the seat he originally sat in.

"_Keep your chin up Elizabeth." _Yu reassured her with a heartfelt smile. He then turned to Margaret. _"Will I be back soon?" _He asked her, wondering if his next visit will come as swiftly as his current visit. _"That's up to you. The next time you come here will be of your own accord." _Margaret mimicked her master's words. _"...farewell." _She bid her goodbye to Yu, returning her worried look.

The exhausted feeling again made Yu's subconscious feel drowsy as his eyelids dropped. Elizabeth's request was the only thing that revolved around his mind as he made his way back to the world of reality, echoing the words she told him repetitively inside his head.

Igor's words then suddenly sprung to mind.

"_The course of your journey will carry you throughout familiar ventures, yet these ventures will delve you deeper towards a new truth, towards something entirely different to your last excursions."_

"_Why do I get the feeling...that what Igor said...has something to do with Minato?" _Yu spoke in his thoughts.

The feeling continued to grasp his heart tightly, unable to shake it, even when the thunderous noises of the train started to batter his track of thought.

**Again, so sorry for the long update, this chapter was REALLY difficult to write! Oh well, keep reading and reviewing...and get crazy for the next chapter! CYA!**


	3. A Welcome Home

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Three_

_A Welcome Home_

**What it be guys? There's only one announcement to make today! The process in making new chapters will be delayed every so often now. I'm so sorry about this! But I've got my summer work for college to think about! Anyway, I'll try and upload new chapters as often as I can, so don't lose faith in me! For now though...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0730 - Early Morning_

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><p>The scorching sensations of the morning sun, even though its rays still battered down its radiance, eventually dipped out of the horizon as the skies turned to a bright orange with a small hint of scarlet-red. Though this magnificent view calmed the usual mood of Ryotaro Dojima, the clouds that murkily rolled gracefully through the heavens above started to thicken, revealing its grey and black colours.<p>

As a tired Ryotaro looked out of his car window in patience, Nanako was sent fast asleep by the long hours that she spent waiting in the dusty cushions of the run-down seats. He gazed at her young face as she snuggled her head into the head-rest with a smile. _"He'll be here soon, Nanako." _Ryotaro said to the sleeping Nanako.

A screeching noise of train wheels braking on the tracks eventually came out from the entrance, making Ryotaro's head turn quickly in hope that he wouldn't have to wait any longer to see his nephew again. After a long while of neck turning, Yu and the others emerged from the entrance, filling the uncle with a great sense of déja vu and relief of his impatience.

He quickly shot his head towards Nanako, gentle shaking her shoulder with his sweaty hand. _"Nanako..." _He whispered repeatedly, trying to get her attention. Shortly after, Nanako's eyes were opened into a squint, stretching her arms and legs to relieve the drowsiness in her limbs. _"Yeah daddy?" _She asked her father tiredly.

A smile then appeared on Ryotaro's face. _"He's here." _He quickly said, making Nanako's eyes light up as they widened. _"Really?" _She squealed with a high-pitched voice, looking out of the windscreen window to check. With one quick glance of Yu and his friends beside him, Nanako quickly undone the seat buckle and threw the car door wide open. Ryotaro laughed admiringly as he watched his daughter run towards his nephew, quickly getting out of the car to make his way towards the group.

"_Big bro!" _Nanako shouted to Yu, catching his attention with a quick eye. Upon seeing his cousin once again, Yu couldn't help but give a wide smile as he crouched down, opening his arms to her to prepare himself for a big hug. Nanako saw his gesture and did the same. Soon enough, she ran into Yu's embrace, experiencing the biggest hug she ever had. _"I know it's been a couple of months, but you look like you've grown Nanako." _Yu said in her ear followed by a giggle in his ear.

After a long while of hugging, the two cousins broke apart from each other. Yu looked behind them to see the others pulling a face a adoration for the two. He stood up as his uncle came his way. Ryotaro stood next to Nanako, still keeping the smile on his face.

"_Welcome back Yu. You're a few hours late though." _He greeted Yu with a wider smile and a chuckle, holding his hand out to offer him a handshake. Yu smiled back to him warmly and took a hold of his hand shaking it like a gentleman. _"It's good to see you again uncle Ryotaro." _He said politely. _"Ah, who am I kidding? C'mere!" _Ryotaro said loudly as he gave a large tug of Yu's hand to bring him closer into a friendly hug. Yu was surprised at first, but then let out a short laugh before returning the hug. With a couple of soft pats on his back, they broke away from the hug.

"_Well...I didn't expect all of you to be here." _Ryotaro said with a baffled look on his face as he looked towards the others. Yu gave a sudden look of a slight shock to the others. Everyone knew that they couldn't say that they went to Rise's concert because they were told by Yu that Ryotaro didn't know anything about it beforehand. And the concert made Yu nearly an hour late because of it.

"_Uh...w-we bumped into him at the last station!" _Kanji answered wittingly, raising his voice slightly with a stammer. _"Y-yeah...it's not like we went to some big event to waste Yu's time getting here, right?" _Yosuke quickly said with a more than unconvincing tone. Hearing his clumsy remark made Chie face-palm with little hope that Ryotaro would let them all get away with it.

"_Hmm..." _Ryotaro thought with a look of disbelief. After a short while of thinking, he yawned loudly with arms stretching widely. _"Ah, what the hell...I'm too tired to think right now." _He continued. _"Well, in a time like this I would take you all home...but I can't see how I'm going to fit you all in." _Ryotaro said as he scratched his greasy head.

"_How many can fit in your car Mr. Dojima?" _Yukiko asked politely. _"Only five, including the driver. Looks like some of you are going to have to find your own way back." _Ryotaro deducted, sounding apologetic.

"_We'll need to agree on who wants to go in the car and who wants to find their own way back." _The detective prince began. _"Nanako and Mr. Dojima are the obvious two who need to take the car, so three of us who are the most desperate to take the car will go with them. The other five will have to stay behind." _Naoto finished, making everyone look at each other with indecision.

"_Well I think Yu here needs to take the car after that accident on the train. I don't mind staying behind." _Kanji offered with an honest smile on his face. Ryotaro looked at Yu with a slightly gobsmacked look when he heard about the accident, but he wiped it off immediately after pulling the expression.

"_Ooh! I wanna go with Senpai!" _Rise spoke with a desperate tone. _"Okay, that's three of us who has decided. We need one more person in the car." _Yu said, staring immediately at Yosuke and Chie who were arguing quietly as to who would get to stay behind.

He turned back to Naoto, Yukiko and Teddie who seemed to have made their decision. _"I'm going to stay behind with the girls. Wouldn't want to get hurt on the way back would we?" _Teddie said charmingly, only making Naoto and Yukiko slightly uncomfortable.

Everyone turned towards the loud squabble between Yosuke and Chie who were fighting over who gets the last seat in the car. _"C'mon Chie! You still owe me for that other time!" _Yosuke whispered loudly to Chie. _"What other time you moron?" _Chie whispered back.

While they were arguing, the others walked away from them, huddling up close to one another. _"Hey Yu..." _Ryotaro caught Yu's attention. _"I was just thinking...since your back in Inaba, would you like your friends to come back to ours for a celebration?" _Everyone's eyes lit up as the uncle spoke his thoughts.

"_Yeah! That's a splendid idea!" _Teddie shouted, not noticing the passing-byers that looked at him with a funny look. Yu nodded with a wide smile to his uncle. _"That would be great." _He said politely.

By the time they finished making plans for the evening, Yosuke and Chie seemed to calm down. They walked back to the group. _"Did we miss anything?" _Yosuke said. His face seemed to show some disgust as he turned to Chie. As they all told them about their plans, both Chie and Yosuke's expressions turned into excitement. _"That's a great idea!" _Chie said calmly with a wide smile on her face.

Yu gave a short chuckle before asking a question. _"So who gets to go in the car then?" _Both Yosuke and Chie gave another look of disgust before giving their answer. _"We're...both going in the car..." _Chie said with an annoyed tone.

"_Huh? But there's only one seat left..." _Yu reminded them, only making Yosuke more uncomfortable to say their explanation. _"Chie and I...are...sitting on the same seat." _He said slowly and briefly, only making everyone try to hold back their laughs with great difficulty. _"It's not funny!" _Chie shouted, only making it more comical for the others.

A long few minutes passed before they made their own ways back to the Dojima residence. Yu quickly got into Ryotaro's car, sitting in the middle seat as Rise comfortably sat in one of the seats next to him. _"Wow, it's hot in here!" _She said with a deep breath. By the mentioning of the heat, Yu stretched his collar out to make himself cooler, slightly sweating at the internal heat of the car.

Yosuke reluctantly sat in the last seat next to Yu, only to have Chie sit on his thighs with an eagerness to get going. Chie felt just as bad as Yosuke did, concealing her rosy cheeks well from the other three. It may have been awkward to watch, but looking at the two along with the passing landscape brought back so many memories for Yu.

As they passed the 'Moel' Gas Station, Yu collected the memories both good and bad of the first time he came into Inaba. Having gone through tough times and mysteries that were more than out of the ordinary, he remembered his nostalgic struggles and fights he endured beside his friends. That year of murder mysteries, Personas, Shadows and the infamous fog was the year that Yu never wanted to forget. And having arrived in Inaba once more, he could finally polish the memories that left out minor spots of forgetfulness.

As Nanako and Ryotaro climbed into the car, they quickly turned on the air-conditioning, activating it from all sides of the car. Everyone gave a large sigh of relief as the cool air hit their faces, saving them from the burning kiss of the sun. They gave the others a friendly wave before riding off onto the scorching roads of Inaba.

"_Hey Senpai." _Rise caught Yu's attention. _"What should we do when we get to your uncle's?" _Just as Yu was about to answer, Ryotaro interrupted. _"No funny business I hope..." _He said with a chuckle.

"_I haven't really thought about it...how about you guys?" _Yu asked Yosuke and Chie. _"I might have thought about it, if it weren't for this pain in my thighs that I can't take my mind off!" _Yosuke said in annoyance, only making Chie scowl at him with a rising anger.

She calmed down immediately after, but the true anger was hidden away. _"I was thinking of another cook-off. What do you think Yu?" _Chie asked Yu, making him jump a little at the thought of what happened last time. Yosuke's expression was also affected by the same thought as it went from annoyed to a disgusted and horrid look.

"_What? No way! Don't you remember the last time we had a cook-off?" _Yosuke shouted, making Chie nearly fall off of his lap. _"Mystery Food X will not be on the menu for Yu's welcome-back party!" _He gave his point sternly.

"_All right, all right! We won't have a cook-off!" _Chie shouted back at him with his stomach tightening. Rise then interrupted. _"Aww! No cook-off?" _She moaned, laying her head on Yu's shoulder in boredom and with no other ideas of what to do.

Eventually, Yu did some quick thinking to get one idea. He turned to Rise. _"Do you want to cook Rise?" _He whispered to her. _"Yeah, I feel the need to." _She said with a cheesy smile. Yu smiled back to her with the corner of his lips. _"I was planning on making something later on as well. And I could use the help." _He said, instantly giving Rise his implication.

"_I can cook with you, Senpai?" _Rise asked him with lightened eyes, slowly taking a gentle hold on his hand. _"We can make whatever we want." _He said with a few dishes and desserts springing to mind. Rise was too tired to express her usual gratitude so instead, she used one hand to bring his head closer into a small kiss on the lips. Ryotaro saw this happen in his back-mirror and gave a cheeky smile to Yu as he looked at him.

"_Don't get too cozy you two!" _He shouted over the engines with a big chuckle following after. Yu and Rise gave an embarrassed look towards the uncle and Yosuke and Chie oddly did the same, only making Ryotaro laugh harder with Nanako giggling beside him.

After a long and tiresome car journey, they finally stopped outside the Dojima residence, sighing in relief that the ride was over. As they stretched their arms and legs, they felt the stiffness in their limbs and muscles as well as their aching backsides.

Undoing their belts from their buckles, they swung the car doors open and stepped out, feeling the warm afternoon wind on their bare flesh. After unlocking the door, everyone slowly walked in, still trying to regain their energy from the drowsy car ride and the concert.

Yu and Nanako were the last ones to walk into the house, reminding Yu of something. _"Oh, Nanako. I almost forgot!" _He said, catching Nanako's attention. Yu rummaged through his bag for a short while, pulling out the Jack-Frost Doll that he won at Paulownia Mall. Nanako gasped with a look of surprise as she took a hold of Yu's gift.

"_A Jack-Frost Doll? Thank you Yu!" _She squealed in gratitude as she hugged her new toy tightly. _"You like it?" _Yu asked as he knelt down to Nanako's height. She nodded vigorously. _"I love it!" _She shouted with a high voice, giving her cousin a big hug.

"_Senpai! I'm ready!" _Rise called for Yu from the kitchen with a singing voice. _"Wait there!" _He called her back, returning the hug to Nanako and picking her up as if she was a little baby cradled in his arms. He comically ran over to the nearest couch and gently laid his small cousin down onto its dusty cushions.

"_Want another omelette Nanako?" _Yu asked with a huge smile on his face, making Nanako burst out in laughter. _"Yeah!" _She shouted in between her laughs, giving Yu a high-five as he offered it. He then ran off into the kitchen.

"_Cooking already?" _Ryotaro asked with a crooked smile. _"It's a good thing Nanako went shopping before you got here!" _As the uncle had his say, Yu opened the fridge and every cupboard in the room to see large amounts of food nearly overflowing in every one of them.

A long half an hour passed, and Yu and Rise were already half way through everyone's dinner. At that time, Yu and Rise's faces were slightly powdered with flour from a quiet flour fight.

The aroma of the omelettes lingered throughout the house, entering the noses of whoever took a sniff of it. _"Mmm...Senpai, Rise! Is that an omelette your making or is it the best dish heaven can buy?" _Kanji asked rhetorically as a compliment.

Yu quickly thought of an idea and then looked at Rise, who was holding an omelette in a frying pan. He walked over to her and held the hand that was holding the handle of the pan, making Rise blush slightly. Yu shifted his body so close to hers, that his stomach and her back were pressed against each other.

Rise turned her head to him with the blushes filling her cheeks. _"Am I doing a good job?" _She asked him sweetly. _"Your doing a great job. I should cook with you more often." _Yu replied to her charmingly, making her blush even harder. _"Ready to flip it?"_

"_Flip it?" _Rise asked in surprise as Yu started waving the pan around, preparing to flip the omelette. _"I know flipping an omelette's weird, but it couldn't hurt to try." _Yu said in reassurance, causing a smile to appear on Rise's face.

After a short and slow countdown, Yu and Rise threw the omelette up into the air, nearly hitting the ceiling as it made graceful rolls and somersaults. They both kept a careful eye on the omelette as it came hurtling back down. They held the pan steady and tightly, hovering it under the omelette's shadow.

Luckily, the only thing that hit the floor was the greasy liquid that was made from the frying pan. The omelette landed safely into their grasp, making Rise laugh in excitement and awe as she turned her head to Yu. _"That was neat." _Yu commented.

Another half an hour later, the rest of the omelette's were made beautifully to perfection. Yu and Rise laid everyone's meal out onto the small coffee table in the middle of the room, getting compliments and praise in return. Kanji was the first one to take a bite from his omelette, and after a few chews, a look of amazement appeared on his face.

"_Whoa, Senpai! This is freakin' delicious!" _He said with his mouth full, swallowing another huge piece of his omelette. Everyone took his word for granted and tried a reasonably sized piece of their own dinner, also putting the expression of amazement on their faces. _"Wow, he's not joking!" _Yukiko backed up Kanji's point, also with her mouth full.

In nearly no time at all, everyone's plates were licked clean of their dinners and not a single smile was wiped from their faces. _"That was the best cuisine I've ever had," _Naoto said in gratitude to Yu. _"I'm tempted to know your secret." _Yu gave a chuckle to Naoto's curiosity and tapped twice on the side of his nose with his index finger.

"_Well, in any case, you can cook for me anytime partner." _Yosuke joked, causing laughs and giggles to erupt around the table. When everyone calmed down, Yukiko was the only one who was still laughing, nearly to the point of not being able to control it. _"Here she goes again..." _Chie sighed, putting her hand to her face into a face-palm.

It took a very long while for Yukiko to finally calm down, but after that, Teddie lifted up his cup of lemonade above his head. He stood up from his seat and straightened his back in pride. _"Lift up your glasses please!" _Teddie ordered mockingly. Everyone did as he said and lifted up their half-full and empty glasses and plastic cups over their heads.

"_Yu, these past few months have been very quiet and un-fun without you...and I knew that someday the bonds that we have made with you would bring us back together." _Teddie said briefly, lifting his mug higher. _"Welcome home, Yu!"_

"_Welcome home, Yu!" _Everyone repeated with a loud cheer, taking a large sip of their drinks. As they put their cups back on the table, Rise quickly had an idea._ "Who wants to play the King's Game again?" _She offered everyone to the familiar game.

Nearly everyone's face became looks of shock and surprise. _"Cool! How do you play it?" _Nanako asked, unaware of the rules.

**SO SORRY for the long update! Like I said, this will be a regular thing every so often. Anyway, keep reading and please review! I love it when I get your feedback! Until next time...CYA!**


	4. Forewarned

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Four_

_Forewarned_

**What would it be today guys? There will most likely not be any announcements for the rest of the story...and where only at chapter four? Got to find something to talk about soon. But in the meantime...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0730 - Late Night_

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><p>The welcome home party went by very smoothly, despite that it had gone on from the early hours of the morning to the late ours of the evening. The skies turned dark to reveal the countless stars and constellations in the night sky. As it nearly turned midnight, the moon slowly climbed higher and gradually shone brighter in the heavens above with every passing second.<p>

As the party came to a close, everyone decided to go back home, all of them struggling to get to the front door with numb legs. They gave their goodbyes and farewells before walking away with tired and exhausted looks. Yu stood at the porch to wave the others off, closing the door behind him when they disappeared into the dark night.

When he turned back around, Yu felt startled as Rise was stood in front of him. _"Aren't you going home, Rise?" _He said to her, carefully looking at her expression. She was slightly blushing, yet her facial features were kept as a straight look. _"Can I stay the night with you, Senpai?" _She asked him, close to pleading.

"_It's fine by me..." _Ryotaro said with a gruff voice. _"But no funny business, all right?" _The uncle put an immature look on his face, but Yu didn't mind it, nor did Rise. _"C'mon then!" _Rise said loudly as she tugged Yu's arm.

"_Wait, Yu..." _Ryotaro caught Yu's attention. _"Could you take Nanako up to bed, please?" _He asked, making Yu's head turn towards his little cousin. She was laying snuggly into the cushions of the couch, holding the Jack-Frost Doll in her arms. He walked to her and scooped her up from the couch, managing to keep Nanako's new doll in her arms.

"_Aww! She's so cute when she's sleeping..." _Rise whispered with a sweet look, following Yu up the stairs to take Nanako to her room. He nearly tripped up on a couple of steps, but never lost his balance. Eventually though, Yu made it to Nanako's room, slowly walking towards her bed and afterwards, laid her gently down onto it, pulling the bed covers over her body.

"_Nuh-night Nanako..." _He whispered to her as he gently brushed her hair behind her ears. He stood up and walked towards the door to Rise, hearing Nanako's croaky voice on the way out. _"Good night...big-bro." _She croaked with a tiresome tone. Yu could only smile adorably at his sleeping cousin, slowly shutting the door behind him with no noise disturbing her.

After a quiet start, Yu and Rise quickly ran into the vacant room that was situated opposite Nanako's room, noticing that all of Yu's belongings were already in the room in a neat layout. Closing the door, Yu jumped onto his back on the small sofa that sat snug next to the wide window, letting out a big yawn and a wide stretch when he hit the cushions.

"_Make room for me!" _Rise shouted in a singing voice, despite the look of exhaustion on her face that restricted her tone slightly. Yu came out of his stretch and kept his arms spread apart, actually offering her his embrace. Rise blushed slightly and laid her body in front of his, being hugged from behind by Yu's warm and tired arms.

Rise turned her body around to face Yu, staring into his eyes as he did into hers. Her eyes lit up more and more with every second looking at him. She then looked down. _"I know you got here Senpai...but...when are going back?" _She asked slowly, feeling some nostalgia of his departure from last time.

"_Huh? What made you think of that, Rise?" _He asked, using one of his hands to gently stroke her silky hair from root to tip. _"Well...the most fun I have is when I'm with you...and this is the most fun I've had in what feels like forever..." _She explained her feelings to him. She continued. _"...I'll be honest with you...I don't want a long-distance relationship. I want a relationship where it only takes a short walk from my house to get to you..." _After her say, Rise hid her face in his chest, giving Yu a chance to rest his chin on her head.

He lowered his head slightly in deep thought, thinking of any way he could do to quell her look of need. He head then shot back up as an idea sprung to mind. _"Well, if that's what you want..." _Yu began in a whisper, _"...I could move in with you...then you won't have to worry about the distance." _In an instant, all of Rise's worries that were clinging on to her mind, were put at ease. Her head immediately shot up, facing Yu who looked like he wasn't joking.

"_Yu! You mean that?" _She squeaked with a shocked expression. _"I can't promise it, but it'll be something I can plan." _Yu replied with a smile, resting his forehead on hers. An even wider smile then came across Rise's face, with a giggle of delight that slipped out.

She laid both of her hands on his cheeks softly, and brought his head closer into a passionate kiss. It only lasted for a short minute, but to them, it seemed like an eternity. In a perfect sync, their hearts played a wonderful harmony as their fast beats were felt through each other's chests.

Even though the kiss lasted for a short while, the tender moment lasted for a longer period of time until they both fell asleep in their embraced slumber.

As Yu slowly breathed light breathes in his deep sleep, his body felt that same sensation of hovering above the ground, gliding and swimming around in the clear, open space of his subconscious. The sensation then changed as he felt his body posture, slouching in a sitting position. He lifted his head up and forced his eyes open into a squint, recognising the familiar dark and light shades of blue and purple across the room that were emanating from every inch of the furniture.

* * *

><p><em>0730 - Late Night - The Velvet Room_

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><p>"<em>It's so nice to see you again..." <em>said a mannerly voice that came from the opposite side of the room. Yu looked up to find that the voice belonged to Igor, and as usual, Margaret was sat next to him with the large tome that rested on her thighs.

"_How is your injury?" _Margaret asked with a serious tone. Yu lifted one hand and rubbed it against the back of his head where the accident on the train caused the most pain. Remarkably, none of the pain remained. _"It's...gone." _Yu slowly said with a look of confusion on his face.

Even Margaret was slightly confused, turning her head towards her master to see if he knew anything which to no surprise, he did. _"You've healed quick. Quite remarkable." _Igor began kindly. _"And with that, marks the beginning of your new journey." _Yu's confusion grew as Igor gave his crooked smile.

"_Huh...? I've made a start? ...But what was familiar?" _Yu asked himself with a clear loud voice, giving Igor and Margaret a chance to overhear him. Margaret could only chuckle at the points he missed which she found obvious. She told him to save the deep thinking. _"The train accident, a slight concussion where your injury was caused a reaction to take place inside your psyche." _She started. _"In other words, that injury bestowed a new ability within you."_

"_Another power...?" _Yu muttered as he started to understand. He remember his first day in Inaba when he shook hands with Izanami who took on the facet of a local gas attendant.

He then knew that the similarity was the gaining of a sleeping power. _"I see." _He said bluntly. _"But there must have been something that caused that accident to happen..." _He then added in question. Igor chuckled with an intrigued look. _"That I'm afraid cannot be answered at this time..." _He began. _"...but as time progresses, this truth will be revealed."_ Yu gave him a confident nod with a kind smile followed after.

"_Do you know why we have called you here?" _Margaret asked him, but Yu remembered what she said to him before. _"Well, I was meant to come back at my own accord, right?" _He asked, only to have a shake of her head in return. _"It was planned that way...but we called you here in great urgency." _She explained.

"_I have been able to assist you with the forewarning of your journey, but now I must tell you about the coming future." _Igor said sternly with a serious look. Yu leaned forward in his seat, carefully listening to what he had to say.

"_The truth you are to uncover will be revealed before you on the day of 'The Coming'. A day of judgement, and a day of conflict that will decide, forever, the fate of humanity, the world and life." _Igor began with an urgent tone. _"A corrupted miracle will be the aid that will guide you through the wars that will be waged, and in the end...the final truth will be recognised." _The blunt but powerful words hit Yu like a train more than the accident did, leaving his expression shocked and horrified. There was only one thing on his mind at the time.

"_The...final truth?" _He asked, nervous about what the answer might be. _"A truth above all other truths. An unbearable truth that is known by not a single man, and is best left to question...until that day." _Yu's look worsened and so did Margaret's. Even Igor seemed troubled.

He closed his eyes in thought for a brief moment and slowly opened again, lifting his eyes up to Yu. _"Please, take what I've said to account." _He said in his usual gentleman's voice. _"How could I forget it?" _Yu joked in seriousness.

Igor forced a chuckle at his remark and put on his normal crooked smile. _"Now, now. No need to ponder upon it at this time. For now, focus on the task at hand..." _He said calmly. _"What task?" _Yu asked in curiosity.

_"To recognise this fate, and what's hiding in it's wait." _Igor said finally, watching the look of Yu's curiosity fade with a confident nod following afterwards.

He then remembered something as he faced Margaret. _"Sorry if I'm prying...but how is your sister?" _He asked her politely, only getting a worried look as a reply. _"She's...away..." _Margaret answered him with a shaken voice. _"Besides...we've kept you here too long..."_

Yu wore Margaret's expression and turned his head back to Igor. _"Before you return to your world, remember these words..." _He began before giving a pause to collect his thoughts. _"With decision, comes new options: To agree, or to regret." _It was difficult to understand at first, but Yu grasped it almost immediately, finding the actual facts in those words.

"_The next time you come here will be of your own accord." _He said as Yu began to feel drowsy, drooping his eyelids shut and laying back into his seat peacefully. _"Until then...farewell." _The words echoed throughout Yu's subconscious as he glided and wandered in it's waking state. He then felt a shaking sensation on his shoulder, disturbing him from his slumber, followed by a familiar voice.

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><p><em>0731 - Midnight - The Real World_

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><p>"<em>Yu! Yu! Wake up!" <em>whispered a voice in distress. Yu woke up quickly to find that the voice belonged to Rise. _"What's the matter, Rise?" _He asked with a croaky tone. _"Look..." _She whispered bluntly, pointing towards the TV that sat opposite them. As Yu turned his tired head towards it, his expression showed nothing more than shock.

The TV was off, but the screen was lit up in a menacing, sickly green colour. Static noises were made as the image fuzzed and buzzed. _"What? But...!" _Yu shouted in a whisper as he opened up his cell phone to check the time. It was midnight. With disbelieved eyes, he looked back towards the TV knowing too well what was going on.

"_The Midnight Channel..." _Yu said forcefully with a slightly shaken voice.

Yu quickly jumped up from the sofa and ran over to the bedroom window, drawing back the curtains to find that the glass was completely drenched in rainwater, and the weather outside still chucked down the heavy downpour. This made both Yu and Rise believers that their greatest mystery had returned.

"_I thought we got rid of the Midnight Channel..." _Rise said as she fixated her eyes towards the TV. As she did this, she spotted a shadowy figure stand out from the green colour of the screen. She walked closer to it to get a closer look of the figure, only to say that she didn't know anything about that person. _"Senpai, come here..." _She called for him, catching his attention.

Yu turned his head towards her and then the TV also noticing the figure in the screen. He walked away from the window and stood where Rise was standing, observing the silhouette's body. Only he thought that they looked familiar.

Her hair seemed straight from the roots of her hair, but as it followed further down, the hair started to curl towards the tip. Her body and posture was of a slender and fit young woman, and she looked slightly older than both Rise and Yu.

After a while of pondering upon this, Yu came to answer. _"Isn't that...?" _he asked himself, only to get cut off by the ringtone that came from his cell phone. He quickly reached into his pocket and took it out, taking a brief look at the caller ID. It was Yosuke. _"I think he knows too..." _Yu muttered.

He flipped his phone open, nearly breaking its hinges and placing it against his ear. _"Yosuke! Did you see it?" _He asked with a confident but noisy tone. _"Yeah dude, I saw it!" _He started off with a panicky voice. _"But...didn't we already take care of the Midnight Channel? ...Why? I mean, we worked our asses off just to get rid of it!" _Yu was nearly deafened by Yosuke's anger.

"_Okay, okay. Calm down." _Yu demanded over Yosuke's shouts until he calmed down. _"Yeah...sorry man, I got a little carried away..." _Yosuke apologised. _"But doesn't the person on the TV seem familiar to you?"_

Yu looked back at the silhouette, still finding it very familiar. _"It does look like someone we know..." _He said as he pondered. _"Wait...I might have an idea..." _Yosuke said back to him. _"No way..." _He then added, only making Yu more worried.

"_What? Yosuke, what is it?" _He asked desperately, waiting in patience for a short while until Yosuke started speaking again. _"Do...do you think...that's Saki-Senpai?"_

The name that he gave to Yu, made him flinch. With the many features of Saki Konishi that rushed through Yu's mind, he compared them to the silhouette and found an uncanny resemblance. _"Yosuke, I think your right." _Yu said in a slow and quiet tone, making Yosuke feel unsettled and uneasy.

"_You think so? But...she's dead...and she was already broadcasted on the Midnight Channel..." _He said with a wobbly tone. Yu ignored Yosuke's question and focussed on what must be done. _"Let's not jump to conclusions now." _Yu began. _"Yosuke, I need you to call the others about this...we'll meet up at Junes tomorrow and work out what we're going to do then." _Yu spoke his plan to Yosuke like a true leader.

"_Okay partner, I'll do that now. See you tomorrow." _Yosuke said his farewell on the phone before hanging up with Yu doing the same. As he slipped the phone back into his pocket, his eyes once again fixated again on the TV as if he couldn't take his eyes off of it.

Rise walked next to him and hugged his arm with nervousness. _"Did you have a guess at who it is?" _She asked with a worried expression. Yu sighed before answering her. _"Someone...we once knew." _He said with a look of reluctancy.

After the events that happened that night, everyone had the greatest struggle to get even a single wink of sleep.

**Nothing to talk about and now my chapters are getting SHORTER! Sorry about that! But anyway, keep reading and please review! Like I said before, I would love to hear your feedback regardless of it being a praise or a flame! Next time I will try to make a longer chapter...but until then...CYA!**


	5. One Down

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Five_

_One Down_

**What would it be today guys? Just to let you know that I may be considering putting up a poll soon. I don't know what it would be about, but it seems like something I need to do to progress the story further. Hopefully, the poll will be up soon when I think of a title for it! But for now...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0731 - Morning_

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><p>No sun was there to wake Yu and Rise up from their difficult slumber, only to hear heavy rain spit-shining the windows as the raindrops race each other down the dirty glass in free-fall. They already knew what the weather was like, but Yu reached for the remote and pressed a couple of buttons to turn his small TV on to the weather forecast. The TV screen intimidated them slightly.<p>

A female news presenter was heard from the tiny speakers. _"-expect some downfall over the next few days as there will be nothing but clouds hanging in the air..."_ Both Yu and Rise sighed at the depressing forecast and quickly focussed on getting to Junes.

Later on in the day, everyone met up in the TV department. Everyone's hair was damp and their clothes were drenched in the rainwater. Like that forecast said, the rain doesn't seem to be letting up.

Although everyone was gathered, it only made matters worse that they were very exhausted without even a split second of sleep after the news got through to them the other night. They were gathered under the dry roof of Junes, near the television department. _"I've never seen rain like this before..." _Teddie commented on the horrible weather.

"_Yosuke, are you sure you weren't just seeing things?" _Chie asked with a tired and somewhat annoyed voice. Yosuke felt the need to have an argument with her, but like the others, he felt too exhausted to even shout at her. _"I'm a hundred per-cent sure I saw it..." _He said with a fed up tone. _"You can even ask Yu about it."_

"_Chie, he is right..." _Yu began. _"Even Rise was with me to see it." _After a short while of convincing, Chie eventually believed them along with everyone else who went down her line of thinking. _"But what the hell? We already got rid of that damn channel!" _Kanji complained.

"_Well, let's recap..." _Naoto suggested, recollecting her thoughts together before saying anything. _"The Midnight Channel was a sort of 'window' that others can use so they can see suppressed sides of another person..." _She started to explanation off. Rise then joined in. _"So in other words, the people watching it had desires of that one person because of them being mentioned through the media..."_

While everyone was recollecting memories of the Midnight Channel, Yu looked round to the TV that they originally use to get to the other world and as he turned his head back, he flinched, thinking that he saw a figure stand in the vague sight of the corner of his eye. He turned his head back round to the TV only to find that the figure wasn't there anymore. He shrugged it off. _"Maybe I'm just paranoid..." _Yu muttered to himself.

"_It was created by Izanami, right?" _Yukiko asked in refreshment to her memories. _"Yes..." _Naoto said, giving a pause for thought. _"...but Izanami took away the Midnight Channel." _Yosuke didn't seem convinced with the idea of Izanami keeping her promise and joined the conversation. _"Well, it's obvious that she's messing with us again." _he spoke his thoughts sternly. _"...Though it is funny that you mentioned it."_

Yu wasn't really interested in the discussion and instead looked back round to the TV to see if the figure was standing near it. He used the corner of his eye just like last time to get any certain action from that same place. The discussion carried on.

"_Okay, what about Adachi?" _Kanji asked the others, a couple of them giving face-palms. _"Adachi wasn't the cause of the Midnight Channel, he only used it to his advantage..." _Teddie explained. _"You are really slow at this Kanji-kun..." _Like Yosuke, even Kanji didn't have the energy to argue, so he just accepted it with dignity. _"What do you think, Senpai?" _Kanji asked Yu, only to find him twisting his neck to look at the TV near the far corner.

"_Senpai!" _He shouted for him, causing Yu's head to turn back around with full attention. _"Huh? What...?" _he asked with a startling tone. Yu couldn't help but scratch his head in dopiness.

"_Are you feeling okay?" _Rise asked him in curiosity. He cleared his throat before answering. _"Er...yeah. I'm just out of it today..." _he said as he feigned exhaustion with a yawn afterwards, causing Yosuke to do the same. _"I feel the same way man...that damn channel caught us off guard, huh?" _Yosuke chuckled, getting a slow nod of the head from Yu.

"_So what are we going to do?" _Chie asked the leader which was Yu. He used one of his hands to rub against the back of his neck, tapping into his mind in deep thought. After a short while of hard thinking, he came out of his thoughts with answers at the ready. _"I think today isn't a good day to start exploring the TV world since we didn't get enough sleep last night. And what's more, we still don't have a clue about who was on the Midnight Channel." _Yu suggested like a leader. Everyone nodded in agreement to his verdict, except for one person.

"_But wait, didn't we already say that the person was Saki-Senpai?" _Yosuke asked, trying to change Yu's mind about the plan. _"We don't know for sure that it's her, Yosuke. Although it did look like her, we need to be safe about this, otherwise we won't know what we're getting into." _he explained, only making Yosuke protest.

"_Yu please hear me out...I am certain that it's Saki-Senpai. We can't just leave her in there!" _he tried to reach out to Yu, but his thoughts were fixed in place. _"Yosuke, I'm really sorry. I know you feel, but if we don't have the things we need to make this operation successful, who knows what could happen to us...losing just one of us could make so many problems..." _Yu expressed Yosuke's safety, but it only angered Yosuke.

"_What are you saying? Are you saying that she isn't any more important than we are?" _he shouted at Yu, not listening to what he heard before. Yu's look turned to surprise and worry when his longtime friend said this to him. _"I would never think that...she matters just as much as anyone in this world..." _Yu tried calming him down, but Yosuke still didn't seem to give up.

"_Then let's go after her now! ...Or are you too tired?" _Yosuke spat as he shouted. _"We're meant to be saving people no matter what our condition is, and here you are, worrying over exhaustion rather than someone's life!"_

"_Yosuke..." _Yu said unable to say any words that would get through to him. Yosuke looked at him with a furious eye, clenching his fists at his sides with gritted teeth. After a long while of silence, he slightly calmed down, managing to keep the angered look on his face. _"Fine then..." _Yosuke said quietly. _"Have it your way..." _He turned his body around and walked away from the group with his head lowered.

"_Yosuke wait!" _Chie shouted for him. _"Shuddup!" _Yosuke yelled at her as he turned his head a short angle, standing still with one fist still clenched. _"Be happy we're going another day! Just don't expect me to forget about this..." _He then carried on walking and all they could do was watch him walk out with worried expressions on their face.

Yu's head was lowered in thought that he lost a friendship with his best friend. Rise walked to his side and took a hold of his hand, entwining his fingers into hers. Kanji felt the same way as Yu did, giving a sigh. _"Man he's pissed..." _he commented. _"We're working on the first victim as it's not looking like a good start..."_

Teddie turned to Yu with a reassuring smile. _"Don't worry Sensei. I'm sure he'll come to his senses." _he said with an upbeat tone. Even though he thought Teddie was right, he still didn't feel better about it. _"I hope your right, Teddie..." _he muttered loudly, slightly lifting his head up.

Yu took the time to delve back into his deep thinking and thought over what Yosuke said to him. He felt that he was right in a way, knowing that the silhouette in the TV looked so much like Saki Konishi. He used a hand to wipe his tired eyes with the thumb and index finger. _"He is right..." _Yu said after coming out of his deep thinking.

"_You think so? Not that I'm against him or anything, but what he said did seem a bit reckless if you ask me." _Chie gave her opinion with a wry smile. _"Though, what he said about putting others lives before our own health is true. Especially with what we do." _Naoto said in reinforcement to Yosuke's point.

After pondering over points of view, they all went home through the heavy and horrible rain with not a single word said on the way. Only farewells were said when a person broke away from the group. This carried on until Yu and Rise were the final two left in the group. They walked the rest of the way back to the Dojima residence hand in hand, despite that their hands were drenched from the cuffs of their soaking sleeves.

* * *

><p><em>0731 - Midday_

* * *

><p>"<em>My shoes are soaking..." <em>Rise broke the ice during the awkward silence. Oddly, it made Yu a little bit better, giving a brief chuckle. _"I've saved up two weeks worth of drinking water in these shoes." _Yu joked, getting an earful of laughter from Rise.

Even though Yu felt better after that short moment, the dramatic events that happened with Yosuke just kept bringing him down again. _"What are you thinking about?" _Rise asked as she saw his expression turned to worry. _"I'm still thinking about what happened back there..." _he said forcefully not saying another word after that.

"_He was your best friend wasn't he?" _Rise asked him, feeling the same pain he did. He gave a quiet sigh. _"Yes...and he was the first one I made friends with in the first days I came here..." _Yu said quietly as he reminisced his thoughts. _"It's quite a funny memory, we first became friends after I helped him out of a trash-can when he crashed his bike into it." _He gave a chuckle at the memory with a wry smile. _"I doubt he would want to talk things out right now...let's get back."_

Apart from the loud roaring of the heavy downpour, the rest of the way back was silent, leaving Rise struggling to find a single topic that would cheer Yu up. When they got back, they hung their soaking coats on the nearest hook, shivering as they took them off.

They saw Nanako sitting at the coffee table with the Kotatsu built into it, watching the news reports on the TV. She watched them as they took their shoes off. _"Are you two cold?" _She asked with a smirk on her face as she saw their drenched clothing. _"Just a bit..." _Yu joked as he walked with Rise towards the Kotatsu. Nanako giggled with a high-pitched tone. _"Well, welcome back!" _She gave her welcome with a cheesy grin.

As Yu and Rise wrapped the device around themselves as they sat down at the coffee table, the warm, toasty air breathed through their soaking socks and damp leggings and trousers.

"_Is your dad home, Nanako?" _Rise asked Nanako sweetly. She got a saddened look in reply. _"No...he won't be back for a week..." _she said as she looked back the TV, seeing that the weather forecast has said nothing but heavy downpour for the rest of the week. _"Oh yeah...he's working on the Minato Arisato case isn't he?" _Yu mentioned.

"_Yeah..." _She sighed. _"Something like this happened before...he said he would be away for a week...he was actually away for three weeks." _Nanako's story had Yu thinking. _"He could be away for longer than that..."_ he thought as he remembered Elizabeth explaining how it happened.

"_His soul became the seal...and his body was left behind. Now that his body's missing, there's got to be a connection there..." _A short while passed before he came out of thought.

Nanako then turned back to Yu with an excited smile. _"But I know that my big bro is here to take care of me!" _she reassured herself, finally giving Yu a genuine smile.

"_I'm glad your smiling again Senpai. I love it when you smile." _Rise commented happily, letting a flush of red appear on her cheeks. Yu kept his smile on while he used a hand to reach for her hand. As he took a hold of it, Rise couldn't help but put on a harder blush, turning away from him bashfully.

* * *

><p><em>0731 - Afternoon_

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><p>"<em>And now for our breaking news report..." <em>said a male news reporter and he looked towards another male next to him to indicate his cue. _"The mysterious whereabouts of Minato Arisato's body has now grown more of a mystery today as the Inaba Police force revealed earlier today that the body was not stolen..."_

All of the three were shocked as they heard the opening sentence to the report. It almost seemed unbelievable for them. _"What the...?" _Yu muttered, but was then cut off by the ringing and vibrating of his cell phone. As he took the phone out of his pocket, Rise and Nanako looked at him curiously whilst he read the caller ID. Chie's name was shining in bright letters.

He flipped his phone open and placed it against his ear. _"Hello?" _Yu spoke into the mouthpiece, causing a panicky voice to fill his ear. _"Yu! This is urgent...it's Yosuke!" _Chie shouted into the phone.

"_Woah, woah, okay slow down, Chie. What's the matter?" _Yu calmed her down with a slightly stern voice, standing up and walking away from the coffee table. _"Okay...okay..." _Chie said in a deep breath, trying to compose herself. She then began to talk slowly with as less panic as possible.

"_Yosuke's not in his house, and he left a note behind..." s_he said more quietly. But despite the volume of her voice, Yu flinched in shock. _"Okay, what did the note say?" _he asked with a slightly louder tone. _"It said..." _she began, picking up the note with the crumpling noise being heard through the phone.

"_If you won't save her, I will. I have gone into the TV world by myself, and when I come back, I expect an apology."_ she read the note aloud, causing a slight gasp to slip from Yu's mouth. _"All right. Chie, call the others back to Junes and tell them to come immediately."_ Yu ordered as he took his damp coat off of the hook. _"Right!" _Chie said with a shaken tone. _"Rise and I are on our way!" _he said, ending the call afterwards.

Rise stood up immediately after Yu slipped his phone back in his pocket, quickly grabbing her coat. _"Where are you going?" _Nanako asked with a blank look, as if wanting them to stay. Yu and Rise were stopped in their tracks by that question and exchanged looks, looking at each other as if to ask if they have an excuse.

"_Urm...Yosuke...broke his foot!" _Yu eventually came up with an answer. Nanako then thought for a while on how someone could break their limbs in a TV department at Junes. No idea cropped up and she let them go. _"I'll be back soon, Nanako. Don't you worry." _he reassured her with honesty in his eyes. She gave a cute, vigorous nod to her older cousin and watched them rush out of the door, and into the heavy shower.

They ran through giant puddles and slippery sidewalks along the way, avoiding less stops as possible. Even though their vision was blinded by the rain rushing into their faces, they eventually found their way to Junes without having to look up.

As they entered Junes and ran towards the TV department, everyone else was already there, completely soaked as they were, standing under an air vent to dry off. _"Senpai, Rise! Your here!" _Kanji called for them with the same look they had on his face.

"_Is everyone fit enough to go into the TV?" _Naoto asked, getting nervous nods of the head from everyone. Yu turned to Teddie. _"Do you have our supplies, Teddie?" _he asked, confident that has. _"Of course Sensei! I've left them in my world in a special secret place!" _Teddie emphasised with huge gestures.

"_Where are they?" _Yukiko asked Teddie, only to get a shake of the head. _"Uh uh uh! That'll be telling the secret!" _he answered with a cheesy giggle. Some of them made a sigh at his stupidity.

"_Should we get going now?" _Rise asked Yu, ready and willing to go back to the TV world. _"Yeah, let's go." _he answered to everyone, leading them to the large, widescreen TV that sat near the far corner.

Once they walked over, Yu was the first one to climb into the TV, feeling the screen squeeze his body slightly as he crawled through it. He stopped halfway to look at the scenery while using the edge of the screen to support. The flowing shapes and outlines of TV screens travelled at a slow speed past Yu, giving him a chance to watch it in peace.

"_Senpai, you stuck or something?" _Kanji asked as the screen muffled his voice. _"Yeah, just taking my time..." _he answered him without taking his eyes off of the worrying view. He could just make out Rise's giggle from behind the screen. _"Take all the time you need, Yu. I'm just enjoying the view from here." _she said with a seductive tone, startling Yu slightly. He looked back to see that his backside was sticking out on the other side. _"Ah, right..." _he said in embarrassment.

Suddenly, he lost his balance on the edge of the screen and slipped off of it. _"Wh-! Hey! Woooooooooaaaaaaaah!" _he cried out as he flailed while plunging into the thickness of the fog. Everyone heard his scream trail off as he fell deeper and deeper into the TV world with a startled look on their faces. _"Senpai!" _Rise shouted in worry.

After a long while of free-falling, Yu finally made it to the end of the portal, being spat out from the group of TV's that were stacked on top of each other. He fell onto his front, slightly rolling onto his side in the process. He quickly picked himself up and looked behind him to see the landscape, which shocked him to the core.

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><p><em>0731 - Afternoon - The TV World_

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><p>His last adventure earned him the scenery that was full of greenery, hills and blossom trees that would be as peaceful as the spring scenery. But now, the TV world was plunged back into the murky fogginess of the abandoned studio. <em>"No way..." <em>was all he could say with the look of devastation on his face.

Soon after, a vague shouting noise was coming from the group of TV's, catching Yu's attention. As he ran towards it, the shouting was getting louder and louder, even though he was stood in one place. Suddenly, after the shouting reached the peak of its volume, Kanji was thrown out of the bottom TV legs first, landing on his back.

"_Woah! Forgot how fun that was." _Kanji said with a chuckle following after. But soon after he came down, another few screams were coming from the TV. Both of them knew that the girls and Teddie were coming down. _"Get ready." _Yu said to Kanji, standing on one knee for support. Kanji did the same and they both held their arms out, ready to catch them.

Rise was the first to come out of the TV, being caught in her hero's arms. _"Oh! There you are Senpai." _she said to Yu as if it was a greeting. As she stood up, Chie was immediately thrown out by the TV, but she was, just in time, caught by Yu and Kanji. The third to come out was Naoto, needing no help to stand her up from that huge fall. The next was Yukiko with Teddie following straight after her, causing both of their bodies to collided with Yu and Kanji into a bundle.

"_Oops! Sorry guys!" _Yukiko apologised, trying to get Teddie's weight off of her back. _"That's okay...we're just losing breath, that's all..." _Kanji breathlessly said, quickly getting both Yukiko and Teddie off of his body.

They picked themselves up, and like Yu, everyone was shocked at the drastic change in the world after last time. _"What's going on here? Why has it changed back to this dump?" _Chie asked, hoping that someone has an answer. All she got was a shake of the head from some people.

They all heard the noise around them. Dead silence was the only thing that was heard around them, and not one sound was made during that eerie and unsettling period. _"I've forgotten how creepy this place was when it was like this..." _Yukiko commented on her surroundings, fidgeting with his hands behind her back.

"_Okay Teddie, show us to our supplies." _Naoto said to Teddie. _"Sure thing, Naoto-kun! All of your stuff is right this-" _Teddie stopped mid-sentence as he turned round, looking in horror at what he saw. _"What?"_

As he ran towards what he saw, everyone followed suit, finding that their supplies were in Teddie's bear costume. But strangely, the costume zipper was undone and it was tattered in some places. _"My fur! My beautiful fur! ...what cruel being would do this?" _Teddie shouted dramatically over the top.

Yu and Naoto crouched down to look at the costume with a careful eye, to find things out of place. As they looked through the supplies, everyone's items were there, except from Yosuke's Kunai and his glasses. _"Yosuke's been here..." _Yu deducted.

"_Yes...his glasses and his weapons are missing from our supplies." _Naoto explained to the group. This made Chie grit her teeth. _"That boy is such an idiot!" _she shouted in anger.

"_Rise, do you know where he is?" _Yu asked Rise, indicating her cue to call forth her Persona. _"Let me check..." _she said, holding out her hands to cause a card in a blue flame to rise up from her fingertips. Upon grabbing the card, and sound of smashing glass was heard. This surround herself in an eruption of a swirling wind of blue, causing a large figure to stand behind her.

The figure was female, and she had a satellite dish for a face as well as her hips. Her robe had black and white striped patterns, reaching from top to bottom, and a strange red device that she held, covered the eyes of Rise. It was Rise's Persona, the chinese goddess of mercy and compassion, Kanzeon.

"_Tell me Kanzeon...where is Yosuke...?" _Rise said with a quiet and calm voice, tapping into her Persona's power. The humming of Kanzeon's aura was heard as she obeyed Rise's command. A long silent while passed before Kanzeon was dismissed at Rise's request.

"_He's that way!" _Rise confirmed, pointing in the direction Yosuke supposedly was. Yu knew very well where she was pointing and put on a look of worry as he thought about it. _"...Crap...he's gone to the liquor store..." _he muttered his thoughts worryingly, but also loudly so everyone could hear.

"_The liquor store...oh yeah...the Konishi family business..." _Chie remembered. _"Is there anything special about that place?" _she then asked Yu, who had the horrible memory stuck in his head.

"_The liquor store was made from Saki Konishi's inner thoughts..." _he began, pausing before he mentioned something else. _"...and it was where I fought Yosuke's shadow..." _Some gave a slight gasp at the thought of it.

"_D-Don't worry about that now..." _he continued. _"...let's get our stuff and get going."_ With their goal set, everyone picked out their correct gear from Teddie's costume and readied themselves for what they were about to walk into, especially when Yu was about to enter the TV world's liquor store for the second time.

"_Leader, are we ready?" _Naoto said after reloading her pistol. Yu gave a stern look towards the foggy path they were about to walk on, pushing his glasses closer to his eyes with two of his fingers. Everyone looked at him as if he was a hero, waiting to hear an answer from him.

"_As ever." _Yu said confidently. And with that, he lead the team through the invisible thickness of the fog, investigating the thrills of the TV world. Walking through, everyone knew that Yosuke will be in safe hands.

**And there you have it! A longer chapter! Like I said before, the poll (if I think of one) will be up soon, so stay tuned! Until then...CYA!**


	6. Consumed By Self

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Six_

_Consumed By Self_

**Hey again guys! Not really a big announcement to make, but the poll is now up! If you have a few seconds to spare, go to my profile and vote for an answer. I must warn you though, the poll contains big spoilers for the next few chapters in this story, but I hope you will vote because I won't be able to make that chapter if I don't have a definite answer! Also there have been a crucial change to the fourth chapter, but I will let you check that out! For now though...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0731 - Afternoon - The TV World_

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><p>The sick yellow lights that emitted from the studio lighting shone on everyone from every corner of the TV world, creating that uneasy atmosphere for everyone as they delved deeper towards the dungeon that was in the exact same form as the Konishi family's liquor store. The entrance had no door on it, but there was an eerie portal with a hypnotising pattern, coloured with red and black, a combination that signalled danger.<p>

"_This place..." _Yukiko said with an uneasy tone, _"...it's quite small. How many floors does it have?" _Yu turned his head to her with the unsettling answer springing to mind. _"Just the ground floor, so Yosuke might be straight through that portal." _Yu said, remembering his past experience in the building.

Naoto took a brief moment to observe the building with her detective's eye before turning back to the others. _"Then I suggest we take a different approach." _she said her deduction, making the others seem stumped about what she was talking about. _"What do you mean a 'different approach'?" _Chie asked worryingly, anxious to know Naoto's plan.

"_This building is too small to fit everyone in, especially when we've got two more people in there. So what I think we should do is to let only around two or three people enter and the rest of us will hold back any Shadows that would attempt to enter as well." _Everyone seemed slightly relieved about Naoto's suggestion, giving her confident nods of the head in agreement.

"_In that case," _Yu began sternly, _"I'll be the first to go in. I'm considering this as my sorry to Yosuke." _Since Yu wanted to get involved, this made everyone else more confident about the operation and Yosuke's rescue. _"I've got your back, Senpai." _Kanji assured Yu's safety, tucking his large shield-like weapon under his arm in readiness. _"And I'll be right behind you!" _Chie spoke straight after Kanji, confirming the three teammates to enter the dungeon.

"_Huh? But what about me?" _Rise childishly moaned. Naoto turned towards her with an answer at the ready which Rise found very obvious. _"Rise, with your level of capability, I'm sure that you can give information to these three from outside a dungeon." _Naoto's trust in her made Rise more willing to stay behind. _"Okie dokie then! Don't worry, Senpai. I'll do my best for you!" _she unsubtly said to Yu, almost making the others feel slightly put off. But despite the exchanging looks of bittersweet expressions, Yu still gave her that heartfelt smile of his, making her unable to hold back her blushes.

Yu, Kanji and Chie put aside the conversation and stood in front of the portal, taking a deep breath before taking any further steps. _"Don't wait up." _Yu said with a confident smile to the others before materialising through the doorway with his two other teammates at his side.

Following the patterns of striped red and black, the three walked slowly to the other side of the portal with nerves and anxiety, clueless about what was about to happen on the other side.

After a short while of walking through a hallway coloured in the same patterns, they stepped out of it, shocked at what they saw immediately after watching for the first couple of seconds.

Yosuke was in the centre of their vision, but he wasn't standing. He was laid on the cold, hard ground, stagnant and motionless as he was laid on his front, with some parts of his body covered in bruises, cuts and scars. His Kunai was spread out across the room, giving an impression that he was fighting something while he was in that room.

"_Yosuke!" _Chie cried out to him as the three ran over to him, rolling him over onto his back. Kanji tried shaking him, Chie tried to get his attention by calling him a few times, and Yu used an intent ear to check his breathing. Relieved, Yu heard some slow and weak breathing coming from his nose and mouth.

"_Thank God he's breathing...but how did he end up like this?" _Kanji asked the group, only making Yu think the hardest about the situation. After a while of long pondering, Yu could only have an idea that Shadows were involved, but with a need of more information, he resulted to Rise. _"Rise! Can you find any Shadows from where we are?" _He asked with a loud tone, lifting his head to get the best sound of her voice from his subconscious.

"_I'm checking now, and..." _Rise's voice echoed from inside their heads, pausing to concentrate on the area where they stood. Whilst she was scanning the area, Yu took his time to do the same, looking around the area and its enigmatic aura with a cautious disposition. After a slow search, Yu gave one quick scan with a flick of his head.

Suddenly, a vague image was seen in the corner of Yu's eye, quickly turning his head towards the thing that gave him a slight shock afterwards. In front of him was a ghostly image of a young girl who looked slightly older than him. But the only difference was that her body was transparent as he could see the whole of the opposite wall through her being. It was Saki Konishi.

"_Guys..." _Yu called for Chie and Kanji, pointing towards the ghostly Saki. As they looked up to her, they gave a slight gasp at her presence. _"Is that...?" _Chie asked with a look of slight fright and disbelief on her face. _"It can't be though..." _Kanji said, nearly lost for words. _"...she's a frickin' ghost dammit..."_

Yu stood up and walked towards her, looking at her expression as she looked down on the fallen Yosuke. Her pale face showed nothing else but sadness and guilt. _"Yosuke..." _she began slowly, casting echoes around the room even though her voice was quiet. _"...I know what you're feeling right now, and I feel horrible for the things I thought about you...but please...let me go..." _The three felt a sudden chill as Saki's words were spoken.

"_Saki-Senpai?" _Yu spoke to the ghostly girl, causing her head to lift. _"But your..." _he was lost in thought, trying to collect the right words to explain that she should be dead. But Saki gave a nod of her head and looked back at Yosuke. _"I know...I'm not suppose to be here." _she said with a shaken tone.

Kanji stood up from his crouch. _"I don't wanna be rude about this but...why are you here?" _he asked trying to be a polite as possible about the situation. Saki left an uneasy air of silence as she closed her eyes to enter deep thinking. Though, not one thought took her to any answer. She only ignored the question, still guiltily looking down at Yosuke. _"...It's my fault...that he's like this..." _she breathlessly said, letting a sob slip from her lips.

Rise's voice was then heard. _"Senpai, I'm sensing one Shadow from within the area!" _she warned with a loud echo, slightly startling the three once a Shadow was mentioned. They stood in their battle stances with weapons in tight hands, looking around the room for any abnormal sign of a Shadow. But after a long look, nothing was found, standing up straight from their stances.

"_Are you sure it's a Shadow, Rise?" _Chie asked as she concentrated on sending her voice to Rise. _"I'm very positive there's one in there, and it's strong!" _she gave another warning with a more worried tone. A long silence was then created in the air, especially when the eerie aura of Saki's presence still slight shook them.

"_BOO!" _a loud voice shouted from where Yosuke was, turned everyone's body towards the source. Their frights were then risen to new heights as they saw Yosuke's head being lifted by his own will. Or so it seemed.

As Yosuke faced the three and the spirit, his bright yellow eyes were then revealed from behind his eyelids, letting out a burst of evil laughter to belt from his lungs. He quickly stood up with no effort needed, despite the amount of injuries that were inflicted on his body. In fact, the cuts and scars that covered his arms and legs started to heal as a dark shroud emitted from his body. The trio then knew that Rise was right about the Shadow. It was Yosuke's Shadow.

"_Huh? But you...!" _Yu shouted at the Shadow, taking a more intense battle stance. Yosuke's other took a brief chuckle, savouring the sight of three shocked faces standing in front of him.

"_This is just too sweet!" _the Shadow boasted. _"You're all probably thinking now, 'Oh wait! Isn't that Yosuke's Shadow? And wait again! Has it just taken over his body?" _The others didn't realise it, but they noticed after a while that it was true. Yosuke's body was taken over by his Shadow.

"_Let him go!" _Yu yelled in frustration. _"Or do I need to remind you how this went down last time?" _As before, the Shadow could only laugh right in Yu's face. _"You think it's that simple this time?" _said the copy with a wicked smile.

The dark shroud that surrounded his body started to flow more rapidly, giving a menacing aura about himself. _"I own the body of your 'precious' friend. Hit me with that Katana of yours...and I'm afraid you can kiss his ass goodbye!" _he shouted with a boastful voice, folding his arms with pride.

The trio didn't know what to think. All they could do was fixate their eyes on Yosuke's manifested feelings with an angered glare. Yu was just desperate to get any information from Rise, and luckily, after a long silence, she did. _"Senpai! What's wrong? Where is that shouting coming from?"_

"_Rise," _Yu spoke aloud to his mind, _"it's Yosuke! His body's being controlled by his Shadow, I need to know if he's still hanging in there!" _The desperation in his voice raised the determination in Rise as she quickly tapped into Kanzeon's power to scan Yosuke's body from afar. Fortunately, Kanzeon did the job quickly and Rise spoke her results.

"_Yu, he is still definitely alive. I can feel a strong life essence coming from him!" _Rise said, only to hear no response from him. She waited for a little longer for any word from him, but still, silence was all she got.

"_What's going on in there?" _Teddie shouted with a panicked expression, flailing his small bear arms above his large grizzly head. Rise blocked out Teddie's worry and concentrated on getting any reply, raising her worries higher than Teddie's were. _"Senpai? ...Senpai can you hear me?"_

Shortly after, a large grunting noise of three people came from her subconscious which startled her at first. But what made matters worse for the rest of the team was the sudden sight of the three being knocked out from the dungeon, seeming like a large force was used to throw them that far from where they were. They all landed on the hard ground, struggling to get up.

Everyone else helped them up to their feet and looked towards where they were looking. A long unsettling moment passed before Yosuke's Shadow came walking out of the portal with his face creased with the menacing expression of anger and irritation, and with Yosuke's Kunai grasped tightly in each hand.

"_Just call it quits already..." _the Shadow shouted with the familiar bellowing voice merging with his voice. _"I lost her once, and I'm not losing her again! Just let us be!" _Yu, Chie and Kanji were surprised by the sudden change in attitude from the Shadow, and more questions arose.

"_You mean Saki-Senpai? I really hate to say this to you Yosuke, but she's dead!" _Kanji shouted to get across to him, letting Yukiko get involved. _"We know how much she meant to you, but can't you find it in your heart to let her go?" _she asked him softly, hoping that he would reply quietly. Unfortunately, he didn't. _"Shut up! To hell with that!" _he yelled, turning his head towards Yu afterwards.

"_Have you already forgotten how pissed I am with you!" _he shouted at him, shaking his fist with an anger so great. _"I am now with her...so you can just get out of my sight! Leave us!" _Yu was intimidated at first, but he kept his guard up and looked at him with apologetic eyes.

He held his hand out, facing his palm upwards, causing a tarot card to hovering in his grasp with a light and blue flame surrounding it with a shining aura. _"I'm sorry about this Yosuke..." _he said quietly to his best friend's corrupted feelings. He then turned to the others with a quick turn of the head. _"Spread out!"_

Everyone quickly ran to a spot to surround the Shadow. Afterwards, Yu closed his hand quickly to crush the card, hearing a glass-shattering sound emitting from it. Suddenly, a large heroic figure erupted from the blue whirlwind that brewed around him, facing the Shadow with the huge oddly-shaped sword gripped tightly in his hand and his eyes squinted narrowly at it.

The figure rose high above Yu's head to reveal the full magnificence that belonged to the legendary god, Izanagi. His Persona took a battle stance, and in a quick flash took the first swing, with the Shadow just barely managing to dodge the attack with great agility. Even another few swings didn't land any hits.

"_C'mon, you're suppose to be the leader!" _the Shadow mocked Yu, pointing at him with an angry index finger. _"Wanna try again, dumbass?" _Not only Yu was annoyed by his remark but the others as well, also intimidated to summon their Personas.

Yu dismissed Izanagi and instead used words to get across to the real Yosuke that was harboured inside the Shadow's flesh of darkness. _"Yosuke!" _he called out to him, _"I know you're still mad at me...and I know I should have listened to you. But please! Don't let your feelings get the best of you. Your stronger than this!"_

As Yu's words were projected out to his best friend, the Shadow, after a while quivered in a quiet pain as he held his head, trying to keep his host from leaving his Shadow's body. Eventually, the pain ended, but there was no sign of the Shadow giving up. _"He's not getting away that easily..." _Yosuke's other said with the most menacing of voices passing through his lips.

Soon after, his opened his arms with a show-off expression and slightly lifted his head. This caused a stronger aura of darkness to build up around him, emitting an enigmatic current of blinding light to burst out from his body.

The light rebounded off of the windows of every building that surrounded the area and squinted the eyes of everyone who used their hands and arms to block the light from their sight.

Once the light faded, everyone immediately opened their eyes to see that Yosuke's Shadow was no longer the form of what used to be Yu's best friend. But he instead took the form of a large, abnormal Shadow that he has seen before. Even the Shadow looked exactly like his former Persona, Jiraiya.

"_I am a Shadow...the true self..." _the gigantic Shadow bellowed, _"I am staying with Saki-Senpai, and there is nothing you can do to stop me! Go to hell!" _Everyone was too shocked to comprehend what Yosuke's manifested feelings have become.

"_This is...what Yosuke has become?" _Chie asked rhetorically, yet seriously, only staring up at the Shadow and it's horrid image. _"Don't worry about it right now!" _Yu shouted to the others, _"I'm the one he's after. I'll distract him while you guys go in for the kill!" _Everyone gave a slightly worried reply to his order.

Yu quickly ran into one direction and Yosuke's Shadow followed after him with rapid speed since he had four large toad feet to run on. Everyone else followed it and the first one to summon her Persona was Chie.

"_Come on!" _she shouted as a high kick was executed to break her tarot card. This caused her Persona, Suzuka Gongen, to rise from the eruption of blue flames that burst out from the ground. With it's acrobatic skill with the large red double-blade that was carried in both of it's gladiator hands, it made one giant swing of it's legendary weapon to pierce deep into one of the Shadow's back legs, causing it to trip over, nearly crushing Yu under it.

Yu quickly spun around and called forth another Persona that was ready at his disposal in the deepest part of his psyche. Instead of Izanagi, he called forward, Ose. The ferocious demon that was half-leopard, half-human rose high into the sky and then came back crashing down onto the Shadow with a Power Slash to the body that sat on top of the Shadow's larger one.

After Yosuke was knocked down onto it's back by a critical hit from Yu, Naoto seized the opportunity to summon her Persona, Yamato-Takeru, with the shot of her pistol to break the tarot card. _"All yours!" _she yelled as the Persona was about to use it's Hamaon attack.

As the large rings of light gathered around the Shadow, it suddenly bounced off of its body, causing it to return to Naoto as it surrounded the area which she stood in. Just as the attack was complete, Naoto just jumped out of self-harm with a dive-roll, looking behind her to see the the dangerous light which she could have been engulfed in.

"_Of course, light isn't working on this Shadow!" _Naoto shouted to Rise, whose Persona was called to give support during the battle. _"Got it!" _she answered Naoto, _"but it also seems that dark attacks don't work either!"_ This made Naoto slightly more annoyed since her Persona also possessed the Mudoon power.

"_My turn then!" _Kanji called out to them, ready to strike at any moment with his weapon of choice which was oddly, a shield with a few spikes jammed into it. At this point, the Shadow rolled back onto it's front and regained its balance, standing strongly once again.

Kanji missed his chance for a definite hit, but he was still determined to call forth his Persona, Rokuten Maoh, smiling widely as it's blazing-flame motif was decorated on it's steel skin.

He pointed towards the target and the Persona rushed towards the Shadow with it's flame-style sword gripped tightly in it's iron fists, giving an enormous swing, causing the attack, Primal Force, to burst from the tip of the sword, condensing the energy into a strong beam of light.

Unfortunately, the Shadow successfully dodged the attack and charged towards the attack. Instead of making any movement to dodge, Kanji was stunned with a comically gobsmacked look as his wide eyes could not find any space to run to. Because of this, the Shadow used its Wind of Oblivion to sweep Kanji off of his feet, sending him flying until he hit the the ground next to Teddie.

"_You okay Kanji?" _Teddie asked him over-dramatically, only getting a sour response from Kanji. _"Yeah, but I'll get him next time!" _He then stood up, leaning on his upright shield to support his unbalanced body.

As the Shadow looked down on Kanji, the human-shaped body that sat on top of the larger half of the Shadow attempted to bring one of its gloved fists down onto him. But it was only when the fist was raised that Yu saved him from that pain by jumping from behind and landing a huge blow from his Katana on its head, crying out in agony as the attack was relented.

"_Try again Kanji!" _Yu shouted to him as he landed on his feet, running out of Kanji's way for a second chance. _"Get ready for a cheap shot!" _Kanji yelled at the Shadow with a look of satisfaction on his face as he called his Persona back onto the battlefield.

As Rokuten Maoh swung his fire-consumed blade for a second time, it called forth a large voltage of hazardous energy from the sky which was his signature spell, Zionga. With the thousands of watts coursing through its body, the Shadow was knocked down for a second time, falling onto its back with another yell of anger and frustration.

Naoto also took a second chance at getting back at the Shadow. Calling forth Yamato-Takeru again, Naoto tapped into her Persona's mind to call forth an acrobatic sword attack to rain down onto the fragile Shadow body. With its small but sharp weapon gripped in its hands, Yamato-Takeru hovered and dived towards the Shadow, unleashing the colourful Vorpal Blade attack, slicing and slashing in all directions, in and out of the Shadow's dark flesh.

In response to this attack, the Shadow's anger had risen to new heights as he quickly stood back up for another time. His two eyes from the large Shadow and his two eyes from his human form that sat on top of it was fixated on Yukiko, slightly intimidating her with the Power Charge that consumed him with a strength-hungry colour of a sharp blue light.

Yukiko made her move by casting a Diarahan to heal Kanji from his wind-inflicted scars, only knowing that it saps her chance to strike the Shadow. And as anticipated, it made it's move by creating an even stronger Wind of Oblivion on Yukiko.

Fortunately, the attack was off aim and Yukiko only needed to dodge the attack with a couple of large strides. When the time was right, she called forth her Persona, Amaterasu, to unleash a devastating inferno of Agidyne to the Shadow's stomach, winding him to a vulnerable state.

"_Pain in the ass!" _shouted the weak Shadow, charging up his attack for yet another Wind of Oblivion onto everyone on the battleground. Gathering up the wind and air around him, he condensed it into a sudden gale that homed in straight for them.

But luckily, Teddie came in at the last moment to summon his Persona, Kamui, to cast a Marakukaja on the whole team to withstand the mighty blow of the forcing hurricane of punishment. Afterwards, Teddie came through the fog of dirt that was made from the attack to reach into the mind of Kamui. The thought was set and Kamui charged at the Shadow, casting a Mabufudyne on all four legs that the Shadow was standing on, causing it to lose its balance completely, and fall to the ground once more.

This only made things worse for the investigation team, as the Shadow's hatred only grew stronger and deadlier than ever possible.

A long silence passed as everyone looked at the defeated Shadow as it quivered and twitched with exhaustion. _"Is it over?" _Rise asked as she dismissed Kanzeon back to her psyche. _"I'm not too sure..." _Yu said unnervingly, walking closer and closer to the Shadow, slowly and steadily. He held a hand out to the team, telling them not to follow him.

"_Y-Yosuke?" _Yu reached out to him in question, leaning over slightly to look at the four eyes that his Shadow owned, creepily finding them open.

Suddenly, the golden-yellow eyes of the manifestation darted at him with fury lighting up the eyes. It shot up from its rest and the human form quickly grabbed Yu's body with one of its gigantic hands, holding him up high and then smashing him into a nearby building, crushing him into the rough, brittle bricks that scratched down his back. All he could do was yell in utter agony and struggle.

"_Yu! No!" _Rise shouted for him, stunned to the core just to watch him writhe in pain at his best friend's corruption. Everyone else knew that shouting for him won't do any good and immediately charged towards the Shadow with weapons and Personas at the ready.

But without warning, the enormous half of the Shadow saw this and quickly unleashed another Wind of Oblivion, successfully throwing everyone in its wake, a large distance away from Yu.

Rise was the first one to stand up, and the first one to see that everyone was struggling to get back up on their feet. She couldn't do anything, knowing that her Persona didn't exist to be battle-orientated. _"Stop! Stop hurting him you bastard!" _she shouted, not showing anger or hatred, but devastation.

Yosuke's Shadow could only laugh at what he saw as incompetence. _"I warned you! And this is what you get for not listening to me! Now have you gotten the hint?" _the Shadow bellowed in Yu's face.

Yu had no comebacks, nor words of cruelty. _"Yosuke..." _he said softly, _"...you were right to say that I didn't listen to you. I mean...how could I not...you are my best friend after all. I know that the Saki we saw was...not alive...but your thoughts were better than my own, despite the expectations that we had. But now I'm asking you...as your best friend...please...forgive me..."_

A long while passed between the human and the Shadow, making Yu lower his head in lost hope.

But then, the grip in the large hand became softer, and then suddenly, a loud and deafening scream came from the Shadow which was not of Yosuke's voice, but of a low, monstrous bellowing.

Yu was surprised by this reaction and shot his head up towards a light that then appeared next to the Shadow. The figure in the light who was down on his knees, was also screaming with the Shadow, but the features of the person were happily clear to him as the body went from transparent to solid. It was Yosuke, as himself.

The screams from Yosuke subsided almost immediately after the Shadow's yells were heard, and he instantly picked himself up onto his two feet. He ran a small distance away from his Shadow, picked up his littered Kunai and concentrated his mind as he held out his hand.

In that hand appeared his tarot card, as always, consumed in a blue inferno. And shortly, after his mind was calmed, he used one of his knives to slice the card in half, revealing his Persona, Susano-o.

In the shining glory when Yosuke summoned his facet, the Shadow that once possessed him, watching him in fear as he lifted an index finger at it. _"Get your dirty hands off of him!" _Yosuke shouted at his true self, ordering Susano-o to call an instant Brave Blade to pierce through the body of his manipulated feelings.

With the large saw that hovered around Susano-o's neck, was then thrown at the Shadow with great speed, surrounding its sharp tips with the light that would purge any darkness, including his own. The saw, ripped through his other's theoretical flesh and then sliced through the other end of the body.

Yu watched his power in awe and then turned his attention to the Shadow who finally lost the grip on his body, letting him fall back to the ground, unable to recover the feeling in some parts of his body for some time.

As Susano-o was dismissed into Yosuke's psyche, the Shadow was left lying on the ground, transmogrifying back into it's host's form. Yosuke approached his feelings and knelt down to it with one knee, watching it lie there defeated and nearly breathless.

"_You deny your desire?" _the Shadow muttered to Yosuke, managing to give him a forced grin with the corner of his lips. Yosuke replied to him with a chuckle, and soon enough the grin on his dark self's face faded away. _"I'm sure you can answer that," _he muttered slowly back to it, _"after all...you are me."_

After those last three words, the Shadow gave one last angered look at him before lowering his head to the ground, slowly materialising into particles of light, and sending its dust away from him in a graceful manner.

Yosuke then looked towards Yu who only had the building wall to support himself up. He rushed over to him and quickly offered his shoulder to him. _"Need a hand partner?" _Yosuke asked Yu with a smile, using his arm as a hook around his neck to help him. _"Would be nice." _Yu joked with a returning smile, laughing with him at the reminiscent battle.

"_Looks like you're the one that helps me up this time." _Yu said kindly, getting a wry smile in return. _"I guess so," _Yosuke replied, _"but I think I should leave that job to you." _Yu was surprised at first to hear that from Yosuke, but he understood.

After a while, Yosuke let go of Yu and enabled him to stand again, letting the feeling in his legs recover slowly. Soon after, everyone else came running towards the two_. "Senpai!" _Rise shouted in relief, running to Yu and giving him a tight hug. _"Thank goodness your safe!" _Yu could hear the slight distress in his voice.

While Yu and Rise had their tender moment, Chie came up to Yosuke and stood in front of him, giving him the sad look in her eyes. _"Missed me?" _Yosuke joked with a warm smile given to his longtime friend. Chie's eyes started to water, but just so he wouldn't see it, she raised a hand and swiped it across his face, making him duck away his pain.

"_Oww!" _he shouted in Chie's face. Her eyes then started to show some anger. _"Missed you? I was worried sick! Why would you do that to me?" _she shouted with a wobbly tone.

Shortly after, Saki Konishi's pale, ghostly body appeared before everyone. Oddly, her presence seemed warming rather than chilling. _"Yosuke..." _she muttered his name again, _"...do you understand now?" _Yosuke looked down at his feet reluctantly, but then nodded to himself and lifted his head up to her again with a confident look. _"I do now..." _he quietly said, _"...it will be painful, but I know I must."_

Everyone knew that he was finally ready to move on, including Saki, who slowly faded away from vision with an image of her smiling, stuck in their minds. They all turned to him to give him a smile, and he forced one back.

A long while passed to welcome back Yosuke and another one was taken to put their equipment back into Teddie's 'secret' place and to make the journey back to their world, entering the large group of TV's and back into Junes. The noise of the heavy rain continued to pat the windows as they came through.

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><p><em>0731 - Afternoon - The Real World_

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><p>Instead of heading home, everyone gathered round in a ring formation and began to find an explanation for all that's happened.<em>"So, what did you make of that?" <em>Yosuke asked, trying to make any sense of what occurred. Even Yu seemed to be lost in deep thought. _"That was definitely Saki-Senpai, but as a...how should I put it...a spirit," _he began his deduction.

"_Hey Senpai," _Kanji called for Yosuke, _"did she tell you anything before your Shadow when ape-shit on us?" _His question immediately sprung a few ideas to Yosuke's mind as he showed a look of realisation.

"_Oh yeah..." _Yosuke began slowly and reluctantly, _"...she told me to let her go. And then she said that if I didn't...the feelings that I had for her would take me over...what did she mean?" _Having his say, Naoto was listening intently and then shot her head up from her thinking.

"_The feelings you had...you mean like your desires?" _she asked him with her detective tone. Yosuke thought about what she suggested and then gave a nod. _"I suppose you could say that..."_

"_Then that would make more sense..." _Naoto said, nearly interrupting Yosuke. Everyone turned towards her with curiosity and interest, listening to what she has to say.

"_The Midnight Channel is like a window that reflects one's desires, correct?" _Everyone nodded in unison to Naoto's question. _"So what if Saki Konishi was a spirit that was created by Yosuke's desires that needed to be quelled. To reinforce this idea, Yosuke was able to fight his Shadow which, as we all remember, was a collection of suppressed feelings, and just by facing his true feelings, the Shadow disappeared. Saki disappeared when he faced her...do you all agree?"_

"_That's actually quite true." _Yukiko commented, supporting Naoto's deduction. _"Wow! You really are the detective prince Naoto-kun!" _Teddie whimsically commented after, giving his charming human smile.

"_Actually, now that you mention it..." _Yosuke slowly said as he thought, _"...that seems about right...nice one!"_

Long minutes passed before everyone decided to head back home, ready to walk into the pouring rain which didn't seem to let up at any time. Nearly everyone left, but Yosuke stopped Yu as they were close to the exit.

"_Hey...I need to talk to you for a minute..." _Yosuke said with his voice lowered in a serious tone, _"You know when you asked me to forgive you?" _Yu seemed slightly saddened at the thought, having that thought that he let his best friend down. _"Yes..." _he said forcefully.

Yosuke sighed deeply before saying anything else. _"I'm the one who should be asking for forgiveness." _he said, surprising Yu as he shot his head up to see his truthful expression. _"Really? But I..." _Yu said, trying to contradict Yosuke of his words, but he was cut off by a pausing hand. _"No...it was me who should have listened, not you..." _Yosuke said, giving Yu a wry smile, _"...so...are we still friends?"_

Hearing the question that seemed to have a obvious answer, Yu gave a chuckle before putting a friendly hand on his shoulder. _"Best friends." _he gave a better answer to Yosuke, getting a genuine smile in return.

"_Well in that case, let's go home partner." _Yosuke finally said with the usual fun voice to him before leaving with him out into the rain, catching up with the others as they played like children in the rain.

**HARHAR! Finally done with this chapter! So sorry about the long update, but I hope that the length of this chapter helped compensate that! Another announcement to make, I am now doing update statuses on my profile now, so you can get the news about future chapters, ongoing polls or a change in a story. Check it out! Keep reading and reviewing, and I hope that I will complete another chapter soon! CYA!**


	7. Another Spirit

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Seven_

_Another Spirit_

**How have you been guys? Have you guys been checking my updates on my profile? If you haven't, please do! You'll be updated every so often on what will be going on with the current stories, or even the past and future stories! So when you have the time, check it out! But right now...shout with me...Let's GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0731 - Evening_

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><p>By the time everyone returned to their homes and Yu and Rise stepped into the Dojima Residence, the darkness of the night creeped through the grey and black sky, hiding its stars and constellations behind the murky rainclouds that, despite the long hours, still battered the earth with its heavy downpour.<p>

As Yu and Rise hung their soaking coats and jackets on the hooks near the front door, Yu bent down below the hooks to turn on the radiator that was placed just next to them. A small amount of heat was given after turning it on to the maximum level.

They looked around the room to see that Nanako wasn't at the Kotatsu anymore, but the lights and television weren't turned on either, so they assumed that she was already in bed, despite it being an early time. They didn't want to disturb her, so they decided to stay downstairs to watch the television whilst regaining their body heat with the toasty warmth of the Kotatsu.

Yu walked quietly over to the nearby lamp and flicked the switch to turn it on, giving out a small amount of dim light to shine on the room. The television quickly flickered on as Yu pressed the power button on the remote, suddenly showing the news on the screen. The weather forecast was being presented by a female reporter.

"_-and as always until next week, the downpours will keep the Inaba region wet over the next few days. So your umbrellas will be needed for every time you go out to Junes!"_

"_We should've bought one before coming home, huh?" _Yu said to Rise as a joke, getting a little cute chuckle in return. He looked over to her with a smile and she smiled back.

"_Are you feeling warmer now?" _he asked her, looking at her wet face that was still slightly dripping with rainwater. She was more than warm being sat under the Kotatsu, but she took Yu's question as an opportunity, feigning a cold shiver as she wrapped her arms around herself. _"Not really..." _she answered convincingly, _"...can you come over and warm me up?"_

Yu smirked delightedly as Rise's request and slowly stood up from the Kotatsu,

walking over to where she was sat. He then sat down behind her and brought himself closer to her so that he could hug her from behind. As Yu wrapped the blankets of the Kotatsu over them both, Rise rested her head against his shoulder, blushing radiantly for him to see.

"_How about now?" _Yu asked with a more charming tone, watching her blush as she gave a peck on his cheek with her lips. _"I'm feeling warmer already." _she said softly with a tiresome yet sweet tone.

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><p><em>0731 - Late Night_

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><p>"<em>And, in other news..." <em>said a male news reporter as he shuffled his papers. Yu and Rise's attention was caught, turning their heads slowly towards the small screen. _"...police have been gathering more insight as to Minato Arisato's sudden death. They have said earlier on this afternoon that the death of the former leader of the Kirijo Group, Takeharu Kirijo, is somewhat connected to the case of the young boy..."_

Yu was alarmed by the second death, but didn't say anything as they kept and intent ear. There was a name, though, that stood out for him and a feeling of surprise grew in him when echoed the name in his mind over and over. _"Kirijo..." _he asked himself, slowly reminding himself that the name was greatly known worldwide. It was a name used for trademark.

"_...The death of Takeharu happened weeks before Minato's death, but they have gathered intel, saying that the leader's daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo, was a close friend of his at the Gekkoukan High School in Iwatodai..."_

Complete silence fell as a photo of the victim came up on the television screen. But the name of his daughter darted Yu's and Rise's heads towards each other, exchanging the same looks of startled expressions._  
><em>

"_...it was said earlier on by investigators that Takeharu and Minato's lives were taken just a few months between one another, and the only difference they could find was that the former leader suffered a bullet to the shoulder, whereas Minato's body wasn't penetrated..."_

The news reporter gave a long pause whilst he shuffled his papers in front of him. "_More news on this as it develops..."_

As the report ended, Yu quickly grabbed the remote and pressed the power button for the second time to blank the television screen. After he laid the remote down, Yu turned his head slightly and gave a quiet sigh to himself, but still loud enough for Rise to hear.

She lifted her head to him. _"Are you okay?" _she asked sympathetically with worried eyes. Yu turned his head towards her after a pause and gave a wry smile to her as he stood up, helping her up to her feet afterwards. _"Yeah, but I don't want to think about it right now..." _Yu spoke slowly, feeling somewhat devastated for Mitsuru's loss of her father despite having been deceased for just under three years, _"Let's get some sleep. Hopefully we won't have anything to worry about for the rest of the holidays." _And on that note, they both quietly walked towards the stairs, avoiding anything that might make a sound as they tip-toed.

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><p><em>0801 - Midnight_

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><p>But just before they could take their first steps on the stairs, a familiar yet unsettling sound was heard from the lounge. They turned around to find the source of the sound, but they knew fully well what it was. It sounded like a white and static noise that resembled to a radio being tuned in, and as they looked around the lounge from where they were standing, they found that the walls and floors were coloured by a horrid green light.<p>

They slowly walked back into the room and immediately looked towards the small television, knowing straight away that the Midnight Channel was broadcasting again, showing a different silhouette against the sickly green background than last time.

The shadowy figure on the screen was definitely a man, with slender shoulders and seemed nicely dressed. But like all the other times, it was too unclear to see who it really was. After a quick observation, they were shocked to the core to find that, to they're horror, another spirit has appeared in the TV world.

"_What the...?" _Yu spoke, cut by a pause that he planted, unable to finish his question. Even though the figure was new to them, it did seem very familiar to them. _"Wait," _Rise spoke with a slight realisation, _"isn't that the person we just saw on the news? The leader of the...'Kirijo' group?" _After the question was asked, Yu gave a more careful second look at the silhouette. He then gave a gasp at the resemblance.

The screen then slowly faded away back to the blank screen, and suddenly Yu's cell phone started to ring. Startled, Yu quickly reached into his pocket and flipped it open to activate the call, hoping that Nanako didn't hear it. He looked at the screen and saw that it was, yet again, Yosuke who was calling. _"Hello? Yosuke?" _he called for Yosuke with a loud whisper.

"_Did you see it?" _Yosuke asked, sounding like he was unsure about the situation. _"It was hard to miss it. Who do you think it is?" _Yu asked back, hoping that Yosuke would have some idea as to who this figure was. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case, considering that it was Yosuke who was being asked.

"_I dunno," _Yosuke bluntly said, _"who do you think it is?" _The question was immediately answered by Yu after a quick refreshment of the memory in his head. _"Well me and Rise here think it was that Takeharu Kirijo guy on the news." _he answered only to hear a slight pause afterwards.

"_Wait, who? ...Turkey-hollow Killjoy? Who are you talking about?" _Yosuke idiotically asked with an tone of disbelief. Rise could overhear what he said from the speaker of the phone and joined with Yu as they both rolled their eyes.

"_You didn't watch the news did you?" _Yu asked him with a deadpan tone that suggested that he didn't watch the news. _"Okay! So I forgot..." _he answered in honesty, _"...my favourite program was on, I'm sorry...so, who is this guy?"_

"_From what I've heard, his name is Takeharu Kirijo. The former leader of the Kirijo group." _Yu began rubbing his tired head with the palm of his hand. _"Okay, what else?" _Yosuke asked impatiently. _"Actually," _Yu breathed, _"we should talk more about it tomorrow at Junes. We'll think of a plan then."_

"_Right, I'll call everyone tomorrow morning to meet up. Hopefully we can get some sleep tonight." _Yosuke spoke with a loud yawn following after, passing it on to Yu through the phone.

After a short goodbye from the both of them, they ended the call, and Yu exhaustedly slipped the cell phone back into his pocket, turning to Rise afterwards. _"Let's get to bed, Rise. We're gonna need the rest." _Yu suggested, getting a nod and smile in return.

As Yu flicked the switch on the nearby lamp, darkness crawled into the room with only the faintest of light to lead them up the stairs. They were both laid on the mattress with nervous thoughts as to what would happen the next day, holding each other in their arms to ease their nerves. Though all they could do in their sleep was toss and turn. And although it was Takeharu Kirijo on the Midnight Channel, Yu couldn't help but feel extremely worried for his daughter, Mitsuru.

**Two things I have to apologise for. One, I am so sorry that this update took so long! And two, I am SO VERY SORRY for making this chapter so ridiculously short! But to compensate that I have already written around a half of the next chapter, so hopefully the next update would be available to read soon! Keep reading and reviewing, and SORRY AGAIN! CYA!**


	8. Meeting A Stranger

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Eight_

_Meeting A Stranger_

**Good evening one and all! Hoping for a longer chapter than last time? Well here you go! The poll is still up if anyone else wants to vote, and do take note that the poll will be ENDING SOON, probably at the end of this month, so vote while you can! Although the last chapter was a REALLY short one, thank you everyone who took their time to read it. Enjoy it? If you didn't please tell me in a PM. It would be much appreciated if you could give feedback to make the stories better! Announcements over and now it's time to say...LETS-GT-R-DONE (slight change in catchphrase)...**

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><p><em>0801 - Morning_

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><p>Despite the long hours of nothing but downpour, the weather hasn't changed at all. The heaviness stayed the same and the same roads which everyone walked across to get to Junes were still flooded with the rainwater. The skies remained dark and grey, rolling in new rainclouds to send out its next large wave of sharp droplets.<p>

Everyone and their soaking coats and jackets were gathered around the usual television, some of them wrapping their arms around themselves, shivering and grinding their teeth as the draft came through the doors of the television department. Though, Rise was lucky to have Yu warm her up with the blushes that he makes her reveal.

"_Man..." _Kanji spoke, spitting a squirt of rainwater out of his mouth, _"...if this rain keeps up, I'm gonna need a new jacket..."_ Yosuke heard this and took it as an opportunity. _"Well there handsome! If a jacket's what you need, we have some that are top-of-the-range..." _he spoke with a corny sales assistant tone.

Kanji raised and eyebrow at him, curving his lip with disbelief. _"Dude, do you really think I wanna pay a fortune for the crap you have here?" _Kanji said with a gruff tone, raising a fist at him afterwards, _"And don't call me 'handsome'." _Yosuke flinched at his fist, shaking his head to let him know that it won't happen again. _"Boys, concentrate!"_ Naoto ordered, quickly catching both of their attentions with a sharp turn of their heads.

She cleared her throat before turning back to Yu. _"So Takeharu Kirijo is the leader of the Kirijo group who died of unknown causes, yet he still appears on the Midnight Channel, correct?" _she asked him with her detective tone. _"That's right," _Yu spoke solemnly, _"and the one who's now carrying the baton on is his daughter, Mitsuru Kirijo."_

"_So, you think that this 'Mitsuru' might be in the TV world?" _Chie asked with some understanding to the situation. Yu gave a nod. _"It seems to be the case," _Yu spoke, _"the similarity between Konishi and Takeharu's appearances on the Midnight Channel, is that they both died before they appear on the TV." _

He continued his deduction. _"The reason that Konishi became a spirit was because Yosuke held a desire for her...so maybe the same thing will happen to Mitsuru...maybe her father has become a spirit...a desire."_

"_That does make sense." _Yukiko commented as she looked up in thought. _"So leader, what should we do?" _Yosuke asked Yu with respect, getting a friendly smile in return. Yu cleared his throat before saying anything else. _"Well...do you guys feel up to it?" _Yu asked, hoping that everyone had the rest they never had the night before.

Everyone gave a confident nod to Yu immediately after being asked. He gave a grin before reaching into his pocket for his Teddie glasses. Everyone saw this and copied him, also getting out their glasses. At the same time, they put the glasses on and turned towards the TV. _"Let's go..." _Yu spoke slowly.

He let everyone go first into the TV one by one before jumping into it himself. But just as he put his foot up onto the table that supported the TV, a figure was seen in the corner of Yu's eye.

He quickly looked round to see who it was, but just like last time, he saw nothing there. _"Huh?"_ He continued to look around the whole TV department before giving up. _"I swear there was..." _After a while, he shrugged it off and continued climbing into the TV, delving into the many striped patterns that flew by him as he hovered towards the end of the tunnel.

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><p><em>0801 - Morning - The TV World_

* * *

><p>As Yu jumped out of the portal, he quickly reacted and managed to land on his two feet after coming out. He stood up straight, only to find that Chie and Yosuke were laid down on the floor, recovering from their attempts to stick their landings. Everyone tried to help them up, but they were all sniggering at the odd position that they were both in, uncontrollable of their silent giggles.<p>

Chie was laid on her back on the floor, rubbing her head in recovery as Yosuke did the same, only that he was on top of her, using his arms to support himself up. They both saw how close each other's faces was with shocked expressions, only making everyone else laugh harder.

"_W-What the...! Get off of me!" _Chie yelled at Yosuke, giving a swing of her fist afterwards to his face. He instantly rolled off of her, and slowly got up with one hand as he rubbed his face with the other, moaning in pain. Chie was left watching him with blushes reddening her face.

As she quickly got up, they all concentrated on the task at hand. _"Okay!" _Teddie began with a cheerful tone, already in his bear suit. He turned to Rise. _"Rise, do you know where this 'Mitsuru' is?"_

"_I'm on it!" _Rise said with a tone of confidence. She opened her hands to form an elegant blue flame, dancing in, out and between her fingertips. As the tarot card of the Lovers Arcana faded into view, she grabbed it with both hands, causing a sound of breaking glass to call forth her Persona, Kanzeon.

The Persona stood with pride behind its host, bringing its red crown over Rise's eyes. The anxiety built as Rise continued to scan the TV world for the victim's whereabouts, but as she seemed to struggle, expressions of uncertainty were spread out among the group.

Another long while passed and still no answer from Rise. _"Is everything okay, Rise?" _Yu asked worryingly, having had to witness her expression of struggle for such a period of time. _"I know she's here..." _Rise spoke with a slightly agitated voice, _"...but I can't pinpoint where..."_

Long minutes passed before Rise finally gave up, dismissing her Persona with a regrettable look. Yu walked over her and placed her hands on her shoulders, bending down to her level to get a look of her face. _"Rise?" _Yu asked, getting a weak smile in return. Just standing in front of her seemed to make her feel a bit better.

"_I can't find her..." _Rise spoke with weakness. Yu comforted her by standing at her side and putting an arm around her waist. _"We will...don't you worry." _he spoke with a warm smile, giving Rise the confidence she needed as she gave a smile back.

"_We can't find her now...so what do we do?" _Yukiko asked with a will ready to do anything. Rise stood up straight before giving her answer. _"The reason I can't get an idea of where she is, is because I don't have enough information about her," _she spoke solemnly, _"so we need to ask around Inaba about what Mitsuru is like and what sort of person she is."_

"_Well..." _Yosuke said, fully recovered from his pain, _"...I hate to be the annoying one, but that could be a little tricky..." _Everyone's head shot towards him with a look of curiosity.

"_What do you mean?" _asked Yu who was just as curious as everyone. _"You know that Minato Arisato case that's been highlighted on the news?" _Yosuke began, getting a few head nods in return. Yu was slightly bothered about Yosuke bringing Minato up and hid his expression. Rise could see the slight sadness that lingered in his eyes however.

"_He lived in Iwatodai and they said that Mitsuru was a close friend of that guy. Plus, they went to the same school together, so she must be from Iwatodai as well..." _Chie looked at him with confusion as did everyone else. _"So...what's your point?" _she asked him with a slight irritation from minutes ago.

Yosuke rolled his eyes at her remark before giving his point. _"Well, she's from Iwatodai... do you think anyone is going to know what she is like, let alone who she is?" _Everyone pondered upon what Yosuke was saying and they gave a look of realisation, knowing that it was very true.

"_You're absolutely right, Yosuke..." _Naoto said to Yosuke, putting a troublesome look on her face. Everyone tried to find an argument against Yosuke's theory, but not one of them said anything.

"_But maybe, just in case, we could ask around here first before doing anything else." _Teddie cleverly suggested. Yu turned to him and gave him a nod. _"Teddie's right, we should find a short way before taking the long one," _Yu said with other words than Teddie's, _"good thinking, Teddie." _As Yu said those words to Teddie, the bear scratched his head in embarrasment. _"Why, thank you, Sensei!"_

And on that note, everyone left the scene through the TV, back to their world. After passing by the abnormal outlines of TV screens, they jumped carefully out of the TV one by one. Yosuke and Chie took the most care out of everyone to stop the same incident from happening.

After a short while, everyone stepped out of the TV safely and huddled up. _"Okay, leader," _Kanji turned to Yu, _"you call the shots." _Yu nodded to Kanji's respect for him with a smile and then collected his thoughts, thinking about what to do. _"To make things quicker, we'll split up and ask around Inaba for any information on Mitsuru Kirijo." _Yu proposed, looking around the group to find the right people to go to a certain area.

"_Chie, Yukiko and Naoto, ask anyone around the Central Shopping District, yeah?" _The three nodded with confidence in their stride. Yu then overlooked the others to allocate them elsewhere. _"Teddie and Kanji, ask around the Samegawa Flood Plain." _They all nodded with smiles to his order. _"You got it, Senpai." _Kanji said with his chilled tone.

"_Rise and Yosuke, you'll be asking around Junes with me." _he gave his last order with both hands on Yosuke and Rise's shoulders, getting friendly smiles in return. And with that, everyone set off towards their allocated locations, most of them heading into the unchanging heavy downpour.

Yu, Yosuke and Rise were left in the store to split up, weaving in and out of different departments of the store to try and find any information whatsoever as to Mitsuru's life. But with every asking, no one knew an answer to their questions, and some never even knew her. All attempts were failing and the amount of people to ask that were shopping in Junes were decreasing.

There was almost no luck with finding any information and Yu looked around the store after a quick stop to find no more people to ask. He was on the brink of giving in.

But fortunately, he found one figure in the distance. Yu ran towards the person and then slowed down as he approached him. The person he saw was definitely a male about the same height as him, with slender shoulders and stood still as he looked out of one of the large windows of the store. He was wearing a dark, slim jacket with dark skinny jeans and monochrome sneakers. The hair colour was too hard to see because of the lighting that was set around the store, mixing in with the shadows from outside, but Yu can clearly see that his hair was straight and seemed swept to one side.

"_Er...excuse me?" _Yu asked for the boy's attention. The boy didn't turn around, keeping his hands in his jacket pockets, but his head was slight turned to indicate that his attention was caught. Yu could just see the corner of his eye. _"Sorry to bother you..." _Yu added politely.

"_Not at all..." _the boy spoke. His voice sounded quiet yet somewhat mysterious with a slight politeness. _"...you needed something?" _he asked with a slightly louder tone. Yu cleared his throat before asking his question for another time out of the many. _"This may seem weird to ask but...do you know anything about a girl called 'Mitsuru Kirijo'?" _The boy's head quickly gave a small turn, revealing the side of his eye to Yu.

His mouth was opened slightly._"Mitsuru?" _the boy asked with a solemn look. Yu nodded. _"I worked with her one time..." _he added, making Yu's eyes grow into a widened stare. _"You worked in the family business?" _Yu asked.

"_Not exactly..." _the boy looked into a different direction in reminiscence. He looked out of the window to stare into the rain, collecting his thoughts and memories. _"It was more of a...group thing." _he seemed to struggle to find the right words.

"_Oh...with school?" _Yu asked, hoping that he wasn't prying. The boy's head was slightly lowered. _"You could say that..." _he said, lost in thought. His head was turned back to Yu. _"Is that all you need to know?" _he asked Yu with politeness in his voice.

"_Oh...sorry I'm not done yet." _Yu said, feeling apologetic to keep this person waiting. The boy shook his head slowly. _"Don't worry about it...ask me anything..." _he said friendly.

Yu gave a smile before asking anything else, even though the person couldn't see it. _"Do you remember what Mitsuru was like or how others would see her?" _the question made the boy seem to ponder for quite a while before he gave his answer. _"She was very organised...protective and caring to others...and..." _the boy hesitated to say what he was about to say next. But after a sigh, he slowly let the words pass through his lips. _"...she was the descendant of someone who made the Shadows a threat to the human race..." _Yu was slightly stunned by the words he said.

"_Wait...you know about the Shadows?" _Yu asked, talking a step forward towards the boy to get a clearer hearing of his answer. A short while passed before the boy spoke again. _"She told me about them...why?" _he spoke more darkly.

Yu's mind was stuck on the thought that he knew about Shadows, but tried to forget it. He turned his body away from the boy. _"N-Nothing..." _Yu spoke with nervousness, _"but, thank you for the help. It was much appreciated." _He then walked away slowly from the person.

"_You own a Persona, don't you?" _the boy spoke more loudly, clear enough for Yu to hear. Hearing the question, Yu was stopped in his tracks, giving a gasp as he quickly turned back round to him. _"What?" _Yu asked in a whisper to the boy, trying not to shout over the silence in the store.

The boy's body was turned more sideways, but his facial expressions were very unclear as they were darkened by the shadows of the store lights. _"How do you...?" _Yu whispered in shock. _"The Wild-Card ability..." _the boy spoke again, pouring fear into Yu with those familiar words.

After a while of sinking the knowledge in, Yu calmed down. _"How do you know about Personas?" _he asked with a solemn tone. The boy stood staring at Yu for a moment before giving his answer. _"You will know in time..." _he said with a lower voice. Yu was lost for words as he stood there, frozen into place.

"_Yu!" _shouted a familiar voice from a distance behind him. Yu quickly turned round to see that Yosuke and Rise were running towards him. As they approached him, they looked at his expression. _"Senpai, are you okay?" _Rise asked with worry, _"You look like you've seen a ghost..."_

"_Huh? Um, no...I'm fine." _Yu said with a convincing smile to quell Rise's discomfort. _"Anyway," _Yosuke began, _"did you get any info on the victim?" _Both Yosuke and Rise seemed hopeful that Yu found something.

Yu smiled with satisfaction. _"Actually, I did." _Upon hearing those words, Yosuke and Rise sighed with relief, knowing that they didn't have to do another marathon around the store. _"Ah, sweet..." _Yosuke commented.

"_And it was the last person I spoke to," _Yu added, _"it was a guy just over...huh?" _As Yu turned towards the spot which the mysterious boy was standing in, he wasn't there anymore, as if he just vanished out of thin-air. _"What person?" _Yosuke asked as he tried to look for any other being in sight, which there wasn't.

"_Maybe he went home..." _Rise suggested, but it wasn't enough to convince Yu, despite him accepting what she said. _"Yeah..." _Yu breathed heavily, turning away from the spot and walking away in small and slow steps, followed by Rise and Yosuke.

As his two companions passed him, Yu came to a halt to turn his body back around to where the boy conversed with him, letting his last sentence ring and echo around his mind. _"You will know in time..." _He was then left to walk on with the others, hoping that he will soon cross paths with that boy in the near future.

**Shorter than usual, but longer than last time! Well, there is only a few more days left before the 31st, so get voting now before that time comes! Also keep reading and reviewing, and PM me with any feedback or comments you would like to make. Make this story a better one! CYA! And have a great Treat or Treat at Halloween!**


	9. Saving Kirijo

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Nine_

_Saving Kirijo_

**Good morning, afternoon, evening, whatever time of day guys! The poll has now ended! Thank you for all of your votes, and we have a definite answer...but I'm not going to tell you! The only way to find out is the keep reading on. I know the poll said that it was going to be in this story, but now I've decided to save it for the next story! Not a lot of announcements today, but at least I get to say it early...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0801 - Morning - The TV World_

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><p>The TV world was as menacing as ever, filling everyone with anxiety and uneasiness as they stepped in for the next part of Mitsuru's rescue. The air was heavy as always, and the fog that surrounded every detail of the world they were standing in felt thick against their skin, giving a cold sensation as it breathed on their faces.<p>

Everyone was gathered round, already fully equipped with their weapons and Teddie glasses hanging off their ears. The next phase of the rescue was coming to a beginning. _"Geez," _Yosuke breathed heavily, _"asking around about info on someone we don't know is tiring, let alone weird...coming here's bad enough." _Some just rolled their eyes at him, deliberately whilst he was looking.

"_I can't argue with you there..." _Kanji said after, _"...I mean, have you seen how hard it's pissing out there? I practically had to run in that shitty weather just to get weird looks from the locals...now they must think I'm some pervert..." _After his complaints, Kanji received a sharp slap on the shoulder by Chie.

"_Quit complaining, Kanji...some of us had to do the same as well y'know," _Chie spoke firmly to the Kanji as he rubbed his arm in recovery, _"besides, we did it for someone's life for crying out loud!" _Kanji seemed slightly annoyed after his lecture from Chie, rubbing his arm harder with a moody disposition. _"Okay, okay...I'm sorry..." _he apologised reluctantly.

The complaints and conversations ended, and everyone was fully concentrated on what's to come. Everyone turned to Yu, since he was the only one who gathered the intelligence on Mitsuru. _"So what information did you gather, Yu?" _Naoto asked with her signature detective tone. Yu took a moment to recollect his thoughts, and after a while, he cleared his throat.

"_From what I've heard, Mitsuru was a descendant of someone who made the Shadows 'a threat to the human race', so it is very likely that she knew about Shadows from the start...but the guy who told me this didn't give me anything on how he or she did this..." _Some of the expressions on the others' faces showed curiosity and awe as they heard this.

Naoto jumped into the deduction. _"I've done some cases around the Kirijo Group __before," _she began, _"they were a company that used experimentation a lot, so maybe the Shadows were a perfect specimen to experiment on..."_

"_So wait..." _Yosuke interrupted, _"...is the Kirijo Group a bad group? If they were fascinated in Shadows...doesn't it seem a tad suspicious to you?" _Everyone saw where he was going with it, but Yukiko wasn't so convinced. _"Well, if it was only experimentation, then I don't see how that makes them 'bad'..." _she argued. _"Good point..." _Yosuke said with a tilt of his head.

"_Senpai, the guy you asked..." _Rise looked up at Yu, catching his attention, _"...how does he know about Shadows?" _Even though Yu already knew the answer, he was still baffled by the fact. _"All he said was that Mitsuru told him..." _he answered bluntly.

"_But here's another thing..." _Chie then joined in, _"...don't the Shadows only appear in the TV world? Does the Midnight Channel broadcast nationwide or something?" _Chie's question caused looks of shock to appear on everyone's faces as they turned towards her. _"Did I strike gold again? It's only a guess..." _she asked, slightly nervous about the expressions around her.

"_That's bear-y scary!" _Teddie said with a shiver of fear shaking the cotton of his bear suit. Yu quickly turned to the menacing scene around him. _"Chie, you could be right," _he spoke with a shaken tone, _"if the Midnight Channel is broadcasted this way, we're in deep trouble...especially when there could be so many people watching it..."_

"_If we don't save her now...before we know it, the Shadows will make a buffet out of the whole nation!" _Yosuke spoke after with fear in her eyes.

Rise quickly reacted this and after a display of blue flames and churning colours, Kanzeon was brought out of Rise's psyche, placing the scanning device over her eyes with haste. Unlike last time, Rise didn't struggle at all with finding the whereabouts of Mitsuru's location. In fact, she almost found her immediately after a few short seconds.

As the Persona was withdrawn into the mind, Rise suddenly pointed a sharp finger in the direction of their heading. _"She's that way!" _she shouted to the fog, alerting everyone as they got ready to run.

Without another word, they followed Rise, hurrying through the invisible fog without a stumble or a trip to slow down their efforts. Through murky streets and dark alleyways, no one was stopped in their tracks, despite the large amounts of deep breaths they needed to carry on.

After long minutes of sprinting, they finally came up to large building that seemed very familiar to the team. The building was more wide than high, and before the entrance was a flight of low marble stairs that shone magnificently against the dim light of the dirty sky that peaked just above the side of the large structure. The windows were tinted and as always there was a portal of a fearful combination of red and black colours at the large doors with the double-paned glass shining it through.

"_No way..." _Yu said quietly, fixating his eyes on the walls that reflected the sickly green air. Everyone couldn't help but do the same, and after a short time, remember the name of the grounds they were standing on.

"_Is this...the Gekkoukan High School?" _Yukiko asked rhetorically, knowing too well that it was exactly what everyone else was thinking. _"But why...?" _Naoto asked herself, loud enough for the others to hear, _"Why would Takeharu's inner thoughts be in the form of this school?" _Everyone knew that nothing was adding up so far with the surprise of the Gekkoukan High School standing magnificently over the shocked few.

"_We might not know now..." _Yu began, having thoughts that the answers could lie within, _"...but maybe, once we get Mitsuru, she might make sense of things." _Everyone knew that it was the only way to go, so they nodded to his suggestion and followed him as he lead them into the entrance of the school.

"_I hope she's okay..." _Teddie said quietly, but still clear enough for some of them to hear. _"She will be okay," _Yu reassured him, _"I'm not allowing another death..." _Everyone nodded to Yu's determination to make the operation a success.

After walking for a dizzy few seconds through the corridor of moving stripes of red and black, they all walked into what looked like the main lobby of the school, looking around at the wide space. Light and dark green colours were painted on the walls and floors of the room, and the atmosphere was heavy, weighing everyone's confidence down to the floor's level.

"_Okay, now I'm scared..." _Chie commented on the surroundings, putting her hands in her green jacket pockets in fear. She then noticed that she was oddly standing very close to Yosuke. _"Do you suppose I could have some elbow room please?" _Yosuke complained, instantly seeing a raised fist by Chie near his face.

"_Geez, get a room..." _Kanji spoke with agitation towards their feud, turning his head as he said it. The fist which was in front of Yosuke's face then swung round to Kanji's, giving him a furious glare as she watched him quiver. _"What did you say?" _she shouted into his ear with gritted teeth.

Kanji quickly reacted. _"I-I said...w-we need to get a move on!"_ he shouted with an loud voice without intention. _"That's what I thought you said." _Chie whispered to him coldly, taking her fist away from Kanji's sight. He took a breath of relief before wiping the expression of helplessness off of his face.

"_Guys! Shh!" _Rise whispered in a shout, placing her index finger against her closed lips. _"What? Why are you whispering?" _Yosuke spoke with his normal voice, being told again to be quiet by Rise. _"Shh! Do you hear that?" _she whispered her question, finally getting silence from everyone keep their ears open for anything that would break the silence.

They could all hear a faint voice echo ever so quietly off of the thick walls of the school. Only some parts of the voice were heard. _"Father...why did..." _The voice sounded female, and tones of misery was heard along with it. _"...your life shouldn't...been taken...but...your here..."_

"_This isn't good..." _Yu spoke with widened eyes, alerting everyone to do the same, _"...come on! Hurry!" _The urgency in his voice, almost made everyone flinch with rushing adrenaline, running with him up the large flight of stairs that lead to the second floor.

During that time, the voices kept calling across the halls. _"...can finally...at peace...no one can take...away now..." _The voices were all the more reason for everyone to turn their runs into athletic sprints, not stopping at all for anything. They all quickly found the next flight of stairs that, they knew, lead to the rooftop.

As they climbed the stairs, the voices started to die away behind the door that stood at the top of the stairs. Yu used a shoulder to force the door open, only managing to bruise it without budging the hinges or breaking the lock. Some others tried the same technique, but all attempts failed, watching the door stand strong in front of them.

"_How cheap can you get?" _Kanji yelled through the door, knowing that he wouldn't get a response. Naoto pushed to the front of the team and observed the door with a careful detective eye. The first thing she noticed was the lock in the side of the door that was locked securely in place.

"_It may be obvious, but it's locked." _she spoke worryingly, knowing, along with everyone else, that the door obviously needed a key. _"What are we going to do? If we need a key to go through, how are we going to find it?" _Yukiko asked, which no one had a clue to answer. _"That's a point...we are in the TV world after all..." _Yosuke groaned.

"_But we haven't got time! There could be Shadows with her on the other side!" _Chie forced a point across. At this point, everyone's anxiety rose to new heights, but Yu had a plan.

"_Our only option is to break through the door." _he said bluntly, expecting looks of uncertainty from everyone, but instead, they all nodded to the option in acceptance. _"That's better than looking for a key!" _Yosuke spoke as he prepared himself, staring at the stubborn door.

Everyone else did the same, but before they could make any movement, abnormal noises of yells and cries came from behind them. They turned round to see pools of darkness at every angle that then stretched out from the ground like an oozy gel, forming masks of angered and miserable faces onto its black flesh. They were Shadows.

They turned their bodies to face them, looking down the stairs with shocked faces to see a variety of Shadows both big and small, and thin and large. Yu quickly reacted to this.

"_Change of plan...hold them off while I get this door open!" _he ordered with a tone of a leader and quickly summoned a tarot card into his hand, clutching it to call forth the major archangel, Raphael onto the battlefield. The Persona swooped down the staircase with great speed with the use of his heavenly wings and performed a Garudyne spell to force the nearby Shadows backwards, to get everyone started.

Everyone ran down the stairs and entered into combat with the surrounding Shadows, showing Yu a violent show of an array of different attacks, letting him watch the many Shadows seep back into the ground in defeat. But as each Shadow is depleted, another spawns into battle, making it a bigger problem for the investigation team. Even though they were outnumbered, Rise did the best she could to provide information to the others.

Yu focussed on opening the door and called Raphael back into his psyche to switch to Izanagi. He immediately commanded the Persona to swing its sword of brilliant light at the door, but after a few waves of different slices, slashes and stabs, the only damage it did to the door was nothing more than scratches.

"_What kind of door is this?" _Yu asked himself rhetorically, quickly dismissing Izanagi to bring out yet another Persona from his mind, which was the Japanese General of the Genpei War, Yoshitsune.

After a quick Power Charge, Yu called forth Yoshitsune's Hassou Tobi, to inflict a greater damage with several waves of a menacing force on the door. Yet again, the attack wasn't enough and the door only suffered a few medium-sized dents, despite the massive force that was pushed against it.

Straight after the attack, Yu ran up with Yoshitsune to the door and chose their own attacks, Yu's being his shoulder and his Persona's being his dual-wielding swords. After a while, the dents grew in size, but Yu's shoulder began to lose strength and the pain started to damage his muscles.

"_Sensei, we're getting creamed!" _Teddie shrieked in horror, catching Yu's attention. Upon turned round to the scene of the battle, he found that everyone else was being pushed back by an even bigger hoard of Shadows, struggling to keep up with the many that were starting to corner them.

"_Are you done with that door yet?" _Yosuke shouted with decreasing hope, dodging a Shadow's incoming attack. _"I'm nearly there! Hang on!" _Yu shouted back, rubbing his shoulder to ease the pain.

"_You're not me!" _screamed a sharp cry of the same voice behind the door. Yu's eyes widened as the feeling of shock coursed through his mind, and then shortly after, frustration was written on his face.

"_That's it!" _Yu shouted to relieve his feelings and quickly called back Izanagi back beside him. He then gave one last try to break the door open with his shoulder, only that his initial Persona was there for that bit of strength that could better his chances.

He then ran forward, facing his shoulder towards the door with the Persona gliding alongside him, shouting in rage as he sprinted. Yu closed his eyes tightly before he bravely crashed into the door with every bit of power in his sprint, as did Izanagi.

This was the action that finally opened the door, but it was also an action that used up every bit of his strength, causing him to fall to the ground upon impact. Izanagi was immediately dismissed after it happened, as if he smashed into dust like broken chalk.

Yu, after a long while, recovered his strength and got up to one knee, catching his breath in deep breaths. Everyone else eventually ran out of the door and quickly shut it behind them to end their confrontation with the Shadows, joining Yu in catching their breaths.

Rise walked over to him and helped him up to his feet. _"Are you hurt, Senpai?" _she asked, observing his shoulder to immediately find a large bruise covering his arm in a dark purple colour. _"Let's just say that was the first time I got beat up by a door..." _Yu joked, putting on a smile of reassurance to keep his mind off the pain.

"_Well, now that we've got it open, where's...?" _Yosuke asked, but then stopped mid-sentence as he turned his head towards the right side of the rooftop. Everyone did the same and gasped with him as they saw their cause of shock in the corner of their eyes.

A figure was stood near the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the view that consisted of murky streets and static wind turbines. Everyone was slightly relived to this the person, seeing the aura of white outlines around him and that he looked exactly like the silhouette on the Midnight Channel. Even though they could see the back of him, they knew that it was Takeharu Kirijo.

With nerves building up, they approached the spirit slowly, keeping a short distance away from him. _"Takeharu..." _Yu called his name quietly, getting slow turn of his body as a response. His expression showed sadness and vacancy, similar to Konishi's expression as a spirit. _"Why are you here?" _he asked calmly, indicating his question for reason.

"_Your daughter...is she here?" _Yu asked with a tone of urgency. Takeharu's expression changed to troubled, and his head was lowered and turned with losing hope. _"...You mean her Shadow?" _he asked Yu back, getting shocked and worried looks.

Upon hearing about her Shadow, they already knew what had become of Mitsuru, lowering some heads. _"If it's what we think you mean...then yes..." _Naoto answered reluctantly.

"_I brought her here..." _Takeharu spoke with a slight whisper and shaken tone, _"...I'm the reason she came here...in this place of discord..." _mouths were open with sympathy as he continued. _"...I still linger in the back of her mind...and now she and I know...that this place is a sign...a sign of The Coming..." _Yu's eyelids were pried open with utter shock as the mention of the phrase sprung back into mind, relating thoughts of devastation to it.

"_Please sir, calm down," _Yukiko spoke immediately afterwards to stop the negativity passing through his teeth, _"you'll be at peace soon...but we need to know where Mitsuru is."_

Shortly after, a short evil giggle was heard from where the door was, turning everyone's heads rapidly towards the source. They found another figure walking towards them with high-heels stomping the ground with every step.

The figure was a female, and she owned long and wavy, silky hair that shone a beautiful shade of red. She was an adult and wore clothes that seemed stylish and fit for a fashion magazine. She wore a tight, sleeveless turtleneck shirt that shone as white as snow along with skinny trousers that hung just above the ankles. But like every shadow, her eyes were of a bright yellow. Her arms were folded as she walked forward.

"_Mitsuru...Kirijo?" _Yu asked for her name hesitantly, standing his ground for any unexpected movement. _"The 'true' Mitsuru..." _she answered with a smirk. Everyone heard the uneasy tone of Mitsuru's voice merged with her Shadow's. _"No..." _Rise spoke, both hands clutching her chest with fear, _"...her Shadow's taken her over!"_

"_I am my own self now," _she spoke, growing her grin, _"I am finally free from the boundaries that life had restricted from me. The work, the company and the death of my own father...I loathed it all!" _Everyone jolted at Mitsuru's change in tone, but Takeharu could only turn his body back round to the rooftop's edge.

"_But this place...a sanctuary for life's escape...I can now live in what humanity and myself saw as Paradise..." _The words that she used perplexed everyone who heard them. She turned to her father. _"And my prayers had been answered...I can finally live this life with my father still beside me..."_

Takeharu was silent and left the silent air hanging before opening his lips. _"Please, Mitsuru...come to your senses..." _he slowly spoke, uncontrollable of the shaking in his hands, _"...it won't do you good to stay here...your desires will swallow you!" _But Mitsuru ignored her father's plea, turning back to the gang with folded arms.

"_So leave us be...let us be happy..." _she spoke sternly with a dark eye fixated on the startled faces. They all came out of their state of shock and returned the glare. _"Mitsuru, you are only deluding yourself to think that this place would do you any good," _Yu spoke up to her, _"what you desire is not your happiness...and your problems will only stay with you. You must understand that..."_

Yu's words only angered the Shadow, and her eyebrows lowered with fury. She unfolded her arms and placed them at her side, lifting her head up afterwards. A dark shroud then lifted from the ground around her, absorbing into her being with a growing strength. _"Your words are futile...and the barrier you create with your own will is a nuisance...!" _Mitsuru shouted as her expression showed hatred, _"...if you are the dam that stands in the way, then I will be the current that breaks through to reach freedom!"_

She instantly threw her arms out, causing a gale of bursting strength to whisk everyone off of their feet to the ground. They all lifted their arms up to their eyes to prevent the brilliant light, that emitted around Mitsuru's body, from blinding them. When the light eventually faded, everyone lowered their arms and saw horrible image of the Shadow that Mitsuru had become.

Her Shadow owned her luscious red hair and her golden eyes, but apart from those qualities, the rest of her image was completely different. Half of a red mask was placed on her face which matched the colour of the lipstick on her lips, and her skin turned as pale as snow. She wore clothes that were reminiscent of a gothic frock and a chest-plate that covered from her breasts to her hips. Black gloves and tights covered her pale skin and her boots were long and pointed at the toes.

Everyone picked themselves up to stare in awe and quiver with fear as they marvelled her new appearance, looking up to her tall and proud self. _"I am a Shadow...the true self..." _she said as everyone gave a concerned expression to those familiar words, _"...I will not return to that life of damnation, my Paradise lies here!" _she yelled as she brought out two giant swords as weapons, both of them being different to each other.

Before anyone could make another move, the roof below them shook and quickly shook harder to make everyone fall again to their knees. But despite the shaking of their vision, they could clearly see what was happening.

The school's structure below started to break apart and rise from the grounds that stood hellishly, yet magnificent as it stood taller than the roof. The walls and floors of the interior and exterior of the school started to change shape and size, and after a large amount of rumbling and unstable shaking, it stopped instantly.

Everyone looked around in awe at the new surroundings, and Mitsuru as the centre of it all. _"W...What the hell happened to the school?" _Kanji asked with a wildly shocked look. But after a while, they ignored it and turned their attention back to Mitsuru.

Rise quickly summoned Kanzeon and started observing Mitsuru, and almost immediately, she found a resistance. _"She's a strong one guys. Don't use ice-related attacks whatever you do!" _she provided to everyone. _"Aww, that's no fun!" _Chie shouted back to Rise, knowing that her Persona uses those attacks.

Everyone else quickly ran into a spot, surrounding the Shadow as they readied themselves for whatever will come. Yu made the first move by calling forth a mythological figure of the Ulster Cycle, Scathach onto the battlefield.

Immediately after stepping out of Yu's psyche, Scathach performed a Mabufudyne spell on the Shadow, causing pillars of crystallised ice to form and smash into needles of icicles around it. But even though the attack didn't do any damage, Scathach continued to attack the Shadow.

Mitsuru gave an evil laugh at Yu's attempt. _"I am as cold as the ice you throw at me, it won't work!" _she shouted with a grin. _"I know!" _Yu shouted with a returning grin, turning towards Yukiko, _"Yukiko, do it now!"_

"_I'm on it!" _Yukiko shouted in response with a nod of her head, running up to the Shadow and calling forth her Persona, Amaterasu, to dance out of her psyche with her colourful bird-like wings to perform a Maragidyne spell on the Shadow whilst in her distraction. Upon the fiery impact, Mitsuru screamed out in pain as the burns were inflicted. Since the fires were spread around the battlefield where the pillars of ice were, the ice melted into a large puddle of water.

Mitsuru turned to Yukiko with a vengeful look on her face. The Shadow gave a stomp of her boot, causing the large puddle around them to instantly turn to ice, freezing everyone's feet into place. _"Ah crap! I'm stuck!" _Kanji yelled, seeing that everyone else was in the same situation.

Whilst everyone was struggling to break free, the Shadow took the opportunity to perform another Mabufudyne attack. The pillars of ice returned, breaking through the thick layer of ice surrounding the area and pushing everyone out of the ice with a large impact of rising icebergs. Fortunately, everyone only suffered a few cuts as a result. Yukiko was the only one who was knocked down since she was weak to fire-related attacks.

Mitsuru made the next move by rushing to everyone one by one, using the layer of ice as an advantage. She glided along the ice like an ice-skater, executing different spins and turns to everyone down whilst in their defence, using her skill in duel wielding.

She took another opportunity and used an uncanny skill, Marin Karin, on Yosuke who, after being inflicted upon it, became a victim to her charm ailment. The pupils in his eyes formed into shapes of love hearts. _"Wow...she is so beautiful..." _he spoke without intention, swaying his body back and forth as if he was drunk off of love.

"_Yosuke, snap out of it!" _Rise shouted to him, unable to get his attention. Chie watched the love-sick Yosuke gazed upon the Shadow with a feeling she never had for him before. She then turned back to Mitsuru with a furious eye. _"Hey, knock it off!" _she yelled to her before making the next move.

Chie called forth her tarot card and gave a rapid swinging kick to bring out Suzuka Gongen from her mind. The Persona ran forward and jumped up to Mitsuru's eye-level, swinging and slashing her body with her double-blade. For the final blow, Suzuka Gongen performed an Agneyastra attack to the chest, knocking Mitsuru to her knees.

After her Persona was dismissed, Chie ran up to Yosuke and grabbed his shoulders, trying to get a look of his face. He was still enchanted by the Shadow's spell. _"Yosuke, Yosuke!" _Chie shouted to his face, only getting a love-drunk smile and eyes that were still fixated on Mitsuru.

"_I think I'm in love!" _Yosuke shouted with a squeal, without embarrasment. Strangely, for Chie, Yosuke's words hurt her inside, and the feeling couldn't be shaken. This was all new to Chie. _"Stop that! Quit it will you?" _she shouted again, shaking him some more to get any response or attention. But still nothing.

"_Chie, focus on getting Yosuke back...!" _Yu ordered, being interrupted by a Bufudyne spell and dodging it, _"...we'll deal with Mitsuru!" _Chie nodded to him, still trying her hardest to get any response.

Naoto jumped into the battle, but she didn't call out Yamato-Takeru. Instead, she took her chances and used her pistol while the Shadow was still down, strafing with every bullet shot. The bullets were loud and sharp, but even though they were shot to the face, they only ricochetted off of the half-mask that she wore.

The Shadow reacted to this by quickly standing back up from her fall, rushing towards Naoto with the elegance of her ice-skating. Teddie quickly ran towards her and bravely pushed her out of the way, calling forth Kamui in the nick of time, to bounce off Mitsuru's sword attacks with its belly, causing her to lose her balance yet again.

Kanji saw this and immediately brought forth Rokuten Maoh, swinging his blaze-shaped sword to bring down a Maziodyne spell attack on the Shadow, causing her to lose balance and fall back down to her knees.

Everyone was ready to get the jump on the Shadow all at once, but Chie was still giving vigorous shakes to Yosuke. But not even the hardest of her shakes could snap him out of it. _"Chie, is he okay? We really need you both right now!" _Rise called for Chie, but she didn't reply.

"_I hope no one is watching..." _Chie whispered to herself, unaware of everyone who was indeed watching her. Chie took a short while before doing the unthinkable. She brought his drunk head towards hers and pressed her lips against his, closing her eyes to hide her pleasure.

Everyone was completely stunned to see this happening, giving gob-smacks and comical looks of shock. The only thought going through their mind was the mystery behind how two of the most bickering of the group finally end up like this. The tender moment passed and Chie's lips eventually left Yosuke's, looking into his eyes for any change.

His body stopped swaying and his drunk attitude with it. As Chie looked into his eyes, she found that the pupils, after a blink of his eyelids, returned to their normal, spherical shape. He found that Chie was stood in front of him and scratched his head with a groan. _"...What happened? Did I pass out?" _he asked, unaware of what just happened between him and Chie.

She didn't know what to feel for Yosuke at that time. She felt happy that he came back his senses, but because he still didn't have a clue about how Chie felt about him, she felt the opposite.

"_Come on, hurry!" _Yu called for the two with a desperate wave. _"Wha...o-oh! Okay, coming!" _Yosuke shouted in answer, running with Chie back to the battlefield, lucky to know that the Shadow was still down.

Just as they both reached the others, everyone sprinted with them towards the Shadow, dealing a huge wave of furious swings and slashes of their weapons. With every hit dealt, Mitsuru gave a cry out in pain and agony.

As the wave ended, Mitsuru didn't give in. Instead, she stood back up, struggling to do so. Yu used this to his advantage. _"Yukiko! Again!" _he called for Yukiko a second time, standing with each other to call out their initial Personas.

Both Izanagi and Amaterasu rushed towards the Shadow, and when they were half-way, they both unleashed one last Agidyne spell on the Shadow, causing a large inferno of dancing flames to force Mitsuru back with a gigantic force. With this attack, only the Shadow was knocked back.

But remarkably, the real form of Mitsuru was left behind, crying out in utter pain as the Shadow was ripped from herself. The large waves of fire ended, and everyone ran up to Mitsuru, helping her up to her feet which she still struggled to do.

"_Mitsuru...are you okay?" _Yu asked her, instantly shooting her head up to him. She looked around herself and only saw faces that she never saw before. _"I'm...fine..." _she began with a groan, _"...but...who are you?"_

"_Worry about that later," _Chie spoke with hands on her shoulders to comfort her, then turning her to the Shadow that they risked their life defeating. _"we've got something bigger to deal with..." _Mitsuru looked up at the large Shadow that stood in front of her and gave a gasp, knowing that it was once her.

But after a while, the Shadow suddenly shrunk and transmogrified back into the form of Mitsuru, kneeling down in defeat as it looked up to its host. _"That...was me?" _she asked the others, getting a nod from Yu as she looked towards him.

Mitsuru then looked back to the Shadow, almost having sympathy for it. She walked up to it and knelt down to its level. _"I thought you weren't me from the start...you were the part of me I wanted to hide ever since I was introduce to my father's work," _she spoke with her suppressed side, like a conversation between two sisters, _"I longed for a normal life like everyone else...I wished that work wouldn't have been a huge majority of my life...but I know that I can't escape that..."_

Everyone could imagine how Mitsuru would have been living up to this point, and their mouths opened with genuine sympathy at the thought of it. She continued. _"...but now I know that I'm not alone..." _The thoughts were then cleared by those spoken words, _"I mean, everyone at home...they own the same lives as I do."_

They were all curious as to who's 'lives' she was talking about, but they still listened. _"Even though I am somewhat ashamed of it...you are me. And now that I've faced myself...I can live at peace now." _Mitsuru gave a warm smile to her Shadow, and her Shadow returned it, giving a nod to her before it dissolved into a comforting light that absorbed into Mitsuru's body, returning her strength to overcome her hardships.

She turned back to the others and walked up to them. _"I must thank you for rescuing me." _Mitsuru said with gratitude. _"Ah we didn't do much!" _Yosuke said cockily with modesty.

"_We're just glad to know that your all right." _Naoto spoke with a grin. A familiar light was then seen at the edge of the rooftop, turning their attention to it. Takeharu was stood there, looking at Mitsuru.

"_Father..." _Mitsuru spoke quietly as she walked up to him. She stopped in front of him, and then gave a quick shake of her head, shaking off the look of sadness that was upon her face. _"...I won't run and hide from my concerns anymore. And I know that it will be hard...but I am ready to accept your death..."_

After hearing those words from his own daughter, Takeharu put a finger to Mitsuru's chin and lifted it up gently, showing his smile to her one last time. _"That's my girl." _And after a short tender moment, Takeharu slowly vanished into the light of the blocked sun.

Everyone approached her with deep sympathy. _"Are you okay?" _Teddie asked quietly, almost in a whisper. Though unexpectedly, Mitsuru turned around and a small smile appeared on her face, spreading the expression like a virus to everyone else.

"_Actually...I'm fine. Thank you." _she thanked everyone for a second time with deep gratitude. But then, after a split second, Mitsuru fell to her knees, straight away making everyone concerned. _"Are you sure you're okay?" _Rise asked as she helped her up to her feet with a few others. _"Don't worry, I'm just exhausted..." _she answered with a croaky tone, managing to lift her own head. _"We need to get you out of here, and fast." _Kanji suggested.

"_I remember the way back. Though if it's not too much trouble, could you walk me back?" _Mitsuru asked, getting a definite 'yes' from everyone around her. And on that note, they all followed Mitsuru's directions, listening with intent ears to her instructions.

Yu turned to Yosuke and couldn't help but smile at him. _"What?" _Yosuke asked him, only getting a larger grin from his best friend, _"Why are you looking at me like that?" _Yu sensed the uneasiness in him and gave a chuckle.

"_Don't you remember anything that just happened? I mean, Chie..." _Yu began, only to be cut off again by Chie who gestured her desperate plea to not tell him about the kiss. _"Hmm? What about Chie?" _Yosuke asked him again with a look of curiosity on his face, showing him his clear signs for feigning disgust.

"_Er...nothing..." _he turned away from Yosuke, ending the conversation as he completely forgot about it. _"So what did happen?" _Yosuke persisted for answers from Yu. Chie could only overhear Yosuke's anxiety for the truth, trying to keep her distance from him. The feeling of sadness filled her heart as she watched him walk, hoping that he will know what that feeling was in time.

After a long while, Yosuke gave into Yu's ignorance, giving him the chance to talk to Mitsuru. _"Mitsuru, there are some things I'd like to ask you..." _Yu spoke formally to her. Mitsuru raised a hand to stop any more words from passing Yu's teeth. _"We shall ask questions later. But our energy grows short..." _she suggested.

For the rest of the way, the thick fog continued to cause problems for Mitsuru, surrounding her and her familiar paths with a visionless air to mislead her into dead ends. Everyone did their best to guide her through.

But what really counted to all of them was that another person lives another day as a victim of the TV world. And as they helped Mitsuru to return home, all faces around her were beaming with smiles, like they could shine through the thickest of fogs.

**WOW! You don't know how much my fingers are aching right now! I think I kept my promise about a longer chapter, and I'm sure you'll agree too (Sorry if I'm being modest...)! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and if you want some updates, you are all free to take a gander at my profile. So until next chapter guys...CYA!**


	10. Answers

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Ten_

_Answers_

**'Ello 'ello 'ello guys! One major announcement to make...we are nearly at the end of the story! But don't worry, there will be a NEW story! This NEW story start where this story leaves off, and it will be left at the end of the NEXT AND FINAL CHAPTER! I hope you're excited! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0801 - Morning - The TV World_

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><p>After long and winding minutes of finding Mitsuru's entrance, they all finally saw a pile of TV's stacked on top of each other, shining its static flickering through the dirty fog. They approached it and sighed in relief and restlessness.<p>

"_Ooh! My feet are killing me!" _Teddie moaned as he fell down onto his backside, _"I must...lay down."_ he gave a huge sigh as he levitated his feet into the air. _"Don't tell me about it," _Kanji spoke as he leaned forward to ease the pain in his feet, placing his hands on his knees for support, _"man, that was some trek..."_

Everyone ignored the moaners and paid their attention to their exit. _"This is where I fell in," _Mitsuru pointed out, turning to Yu and company, _"I trust you have questions to ask me...I have some for you as well, so it would be best if you came through with me." _She then turned back to the TV's and started climbing in, only to be stopped by Yu.

"_Wait," _he spoke as he caught her, turning her head with a look of confusion on her face, _"I'll go through first and help you out." _he offered, getting a grateful nod in return. Yu turned to Yosuke and made a hand gesture to call him over. _"Yosuke, help me out here."_

"_You got it." _Yosuke answered, walking over to Yu's side with an active will. Yosuke was the first to enter the group of TV's and Yu jumped in after him, gliding with him through the rectangular outlines that flew past their weightless bodies into the white unknown.

As their flight picked up speed, a bright light was seen at the end of the blank tunnel. Eventually, after diving into the deepness of the brightness, they flew out of the other end of the TV letting out a brief yelp as they felt gravity pull them back down. But they both landed on a surprisingly soft carpet.

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><p><em>0801 - Morning - The Real World_

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><p>They stayed laid down on the floor for a few comfortable minutes before slowly picking themselves up with an urge to lay down again, but the view around them caught their amazed eye. The furniture around them seemed fit for a person of great wealth, depicting floral images of red roses and violet tulips. The room around them looked like a lounge. Even the TV was bigger than the one they used at Junes.<p>

"_Wow...Mitsuru must have a rich family..." _Yosuke spoke his thoughts aloud, distracted by the wonders that were organised around the room in front of him. _"Yosuke, concentrate!" _Yu called for him, already prepared to feed everyone through, knelt down on one knee and facing his body towards the TV.

Yosuke nodded to Yu's order and poked his head through the screen, careful to not fall back in. _"Okay, we're ready!" _Yosuke shouted in a singing voice, pulling his head back out and taking the same position as Yu did.

After a short while of last minute preparation, a vague whooshing sound was heard from the inside of the TV. The noise grew louder and louder, before Mitsuru eventually came out of the flat screen. She grabbed a hold of their hands and landed comfortably on their knees, standing up afterwards to straighten out her hair.

This process continued until the last person climbed out, though both Yu and Yosuke's knees started to weaken with each person exiting the screen. They got up to their feet and joined everyone else on the couches and sofas that were provided.

"_First of all," _Mitsuru began, _"I would like to thank you all for your efforts. It is much appreciated..." _her gratitude was genuine and not one sign of a lie was seen. Everyone smiled at her and some gave embarrassed scratches of their heads.

"_...though I can't thank you properly if I don't know your names..." _she chuckled, beginning the groups introductions. Yu cleared his throat and gladly introduced the team, one by one with warm greetings from each of them. _"Ah, magnifique." _she commented in a french dialect.

"_So, Yu," _Mitsuru spoke with a smile, already learning his name, _"I suppose you would like to ask me some questions?" _Yu had many questions scrambled throughout his mind, but after take a breath in preparation in asking one of them, Yosuke interrupts him.

"_Sorry! I have to ask...do you live with your family? I mean, your lounge looks amazing! It's filled with stuff that not even my dad can afford, and he owns a major superstore!" _Yosuke asked with a high-pitched tone and sparkles in his eyes.

Mitsuru gave a giggle to Yosuke's unawareness and folded her arms. _"Lounge? You mean my room?" _she asked, getting an immediate gobsmacked look from the ginger-haired boy. Some others were startled as well, giving another glance around her room.

"_It does look like a lounge doesn't it?" _Mitsuru said with another chuckle, _"No, I don't live with my family. They sent me this furniture, but I share this dormitory with my friends." _Everyone nodded respectively to Mitsuru, giving an interested look to her.

"_I hope this isn't intruding but..." _Yu spoke, slightly cut off by his hesitation, _"how do you know about Shadows?" _the question caught Mitsuru off guard, giving a shocked expression at the knowledge that Yu and the others had on the subject.

Mitsuru searched through her mind in deep thought, looking up to the others as she collected her thoughts. _"The question returns..." _she spoke reluctantly, giving everyone the impression that she had been asked the same question many times before, _"...it was during my childhood..." _everyone leaned forward in their seats.

"_My grandfather was obsessed with the Shadows, and he pushed his staff to conduct investigations and experiments on various Shadows." _They all looked at each other, indicating their correction of the situation. Mitsuru continued. _"But it wasn't enough for him. He hungered for their power...and with the amount of Shadows he contained, the power he could have harnessed would have been unimaginable..."_

The knowledge that Mitsuru shared with the gang was overwhelmingly staggering to sink in, realising something about their greatest enemy that made them seem more fearful than they originally thought. But that wasn't all.

With butterflies flying in everyone's stomachs, Mitsuru carried on. _"Though...it resulted in failure..." _Jaws gawped and sudden gasps filled everyone's chests with a painful air, _"...at the final stages of the experiment, they lost control of the Shadows and at that moment...it only took an explosion to alter the world for good..."_

"_Wow..." _Yukiko spoke in awe, along with a few others. More questions were whizzing through Yu's cranium making it hard for him to pick out the next one. A reflective pause silenced the air, but Yu found a question.

"_So...the experiment was the cause of the Shadows in the TV world?" _he asked. But surprisingly, Mitsuru gave a shake of her head. Yu put on a look of confusion, sitting on the edge of his seat.

"_Do you remember the school where you fought my Shadow?" _Mitsuru asked, only getting more confused looks. Everyone wondered with great difficulty about how the school was important. Mitsuru continued explaining. _"It was exactly the same school you would find in Iwatodai."_

Everyone nodded to her with confidence that they knew the school well. She took a pause. _"That was where the experiment was conducted..." _And upon hearing the unexpected, their spines stiffened and their eyes grew wider. But the news only exacerbated further. _"But they didn't spawn in what you call the 'TV world'..."_

"_Then...if not in the TV...where?" _Yosuke asked hesitantly. Mitsuru lowered her head to call the horrible memory from the forgotten side of her subconscious. She lifted her head up. _"Gekkoukan High School." _Even though it was a surprise to everyone, they couldn't be anymore shocked than they were then. _"That would make sense since the experiment was sited there," _Naoto spoke, but with some doubt left in the statement, _"but if the Shadows overran the school, it would have been shut down...I trust you have an explanation..."_

"_Of course," _Mitsuru said with a nodded, calling another memory to mind, _"...the failed experiment not only released the Shadows...but it also altered time and space...this is the part when you might stop believing me..." _Everyone found it hard to imagine such causes, but they were confident that Mitsuru would know. She explained further, _"...but every night at midnight, the school transformed into a tower of countless floors to climb...we called it Tartarus."_

They all seemed to calm down after their shock, and their expressions showed more of deep interest and wonder. _"Was that...?" _Rise began to ask, _"When we fought your Shadow...that was the tower?"_

"_Yes. That's correct..." _Mitsuru said, praising Rise's understanding, _"...but it doesn't end there..." _Some put their fingers to their chins, listening with careful hearing, _"...the experiment also gave birth to what we call the 'Dark Hour', a 'hidden' hour that presents itself every midnight to anyone who owned the potential."_

"_This 'potential'..." _Chie began her say, _"...it is something that anyone could have, or was it only certain people?" _The raised question made Mitsuru grin a bit. She unfolded her arms and laid them on her leg that was crossed over the other one. _"Very few people have it," _she began giving a pause, ready to say the other half of her sentence, _"but I am one of them."_

Everyone's interest suddenly rose to a new height, leaning closer towards her. They were all so grasped by Mitsuru's answers, that they were slipping out of their seats.

"_Why are you all so surprised?" _she asked with a sweet giggle, _"You all have the potential too." _They all recoiled with a greater surprise, exchanging looks to each other to see if anyone knew what she meant.

"_Wow! We have the potential?" _Teddie shouted with a dramatic voice, _"Please, Miss Mitsuru, would you kindly tell us what this 'potential' is?" _Mitsuru gave a chuckle to Teddie's outgoingness and everyone's unawareness. _"You really don't have a clue?" _she asked with a friendly smile.

Everyone shook their heads, anxious to know what Mitsuru is teasing them with. _"A Persona." _she finally said, causing a thud to be heard from where Yosuke was. Everyone looked towards him and found that he fell off the edge of his seat, back onto the soft carpet.

"_You have a Persona?" _Yosuke asked in a shout, taking the question from everyone's mouths. _"Not just me, all of my friends who live here have their own as well..." _Everyone smiled, knowing that they weren't the only ones to have a Persona. But Mitsuru didn't return the smile back to them, only lowering her head, hiding her face behind her hair.

"_Well...when I say 'all' of my friends..." _Mitsuru said quietly, not being able to end her sentence. Yu could tell how she felt by the sound of her voice, knowing right away that there was one person she was trying to force out of her mouth. _"Minato Arisato..." _he spoke his name, causing Mitsuru's head to shoot up to look at him.

"_How do you know him?" _Mitsuru asked, slightly confused for someone who she didn't know to have some knowledge of her longtime friend. _"I heard about him on the news...I'm terribly sorry..." _Yu apologised to Mitsuru with a genuine look of sympathy for her.

"_No need to apologise," _Mitsuru said, forcing a smile for him, _"it was just a shock for us to hear that his body went missing just a couple of days ago. We didn't know what to do..."_

Mitsuru cleared her throat before saying anything else. She remembered Minato and his capabilities, reminiscing the final times before he met his death. _"He didn't talk very much when we first met him, but when he awakened to his Persona, we knew right from the start that he was someone special. He became our leader for our expeditions in Tartarus. He cared about everyone..." _A sense of surprise grew inside everyone except for Yu, but they all hid it away in respect.

"_In fact...you're just like him." _she said, looking towards Yu. He slightly flinched to Mitsuru's opinion, even though he has been told that before. _"Really? What do you mean?" _he asked politely.

"_You care about the people around you...you have an aura around you which comforts anyone you approach..." _Mitsuru then picked out the main point she wanted to make, _"...but incredibly...you have his power." _Again, everyone but Yu reacted to this, but he feigned clueless to Mitsuru's point.

"_You mean, he had the power to hold multiple Personas?" _Naoto asked with surprise still in her eyes. Mitsuru nodded. _"Yes, but he used his potential for something that none of us would dare to do, let alone could do." _

She took another moment to collect her thoughts before coming out of her deep thought. _"Just at the start of the year, the day came when Nyx, a primordial goddess of the Shadows came down to earth to summon 'The Fall', the end of the world." _Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other, exchanging looks of fear. Yet again, Yu didn't react.

Mitsuru spoke further, _"It wrecked havoc across Iwatodai, and we could only watch from the top of Tartarus..." _She took a deep breath before carrying on, _"...as the end drew nearer and nearer, the force of Nyx's power pushed us all down to the ground and the force made it almost impossible for us to breath." _Shocked expressions were seen all across the room, even from Yu despite hearing it for a second time.

"_But Minato was able to get back up...and confronted Nyx alone," _She spoke slowly as if telling a story, pausing afterwards, _"He held a power of unimaginable strength, but Nyx was an immortal, she could not die...so he used every bit of that power to seal her away from the world. To prevent 'The Fall' from ever happening again. He became The Great Seal himself."_

Everyone expressions didn't show shock, but deep sympathy and sadness towards the true story. _"Risking his own life for us and the world..." _Rise said, quiet and shaken, wiping away a tear that formed in the corner of her eye. Yu responded to this and sat closer to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. She forced a smile for him and sank her head under his chin. _"Man...I wouldn't have the guts to do that..." _Kanji spoke as he lowered his head, as did Yosuke who had the same thought going through this mind.

"_Up until Graduation Day at the school, he stayed with us for a little longer before returning to where he sealed Nyx away." _They all opened their mouths with the sad thought of someone hanging on to life before slipping away on the final day. _"Later on, we learned about Minato's reason for his sacrifice after fighting another god, Erebus."_

"_Erebus? What was he the god of?" _Yu asked, afraid of the answer that was to come. Mitsuru sighed before giving her answer. _"He was created from human malice...from people's wishes for 'The Fall' to come. And everyday, and even now...Erebus attacks The Great Seal, trying to break through Minato's chains and bonds to reach Nyx...and finally bring about The Fall."_

Some of them closed their eyes at the horrible thought, and some were just speechless, scratching their heads with the awful emotions running through their minds.

"_Which brings me to the question I wanted to ask you." _Mitsuru spoke after a long silence, shooting their heads up to her with ears widely open. She proceeded to her question. _"The disappearance of Minato's body seems too suspicious for it to have been stolen or any other mere excuse..." _Everyone thought about what she said and instantly agreed with her.

"_...If you ask me, it might have something to do with all of this." _Yu along with a few others nodded as she discussed her main question, _"So now I ask...will you aid us in finding the answers? To his disappearance, to the cause of it and why?" _she asked with a small sign of desperation to shout out a bigger one.

Everyone looked towards Yu, and he looked around at the faces that looked for his answer. Yu had no thoughts of backing out and he immediately had an answer in mind. _"Yes, definitely."_ he answered confidently, _"We won't let you down."_ They all smiled to him with agreement.

"_Then it's settled," _Mitsuru began with more confidence in her speech, _"when shall we meet again? I suggest you take a day to convince your parents and guardians before departing." _she asked with a plan already in mind. Everyone turned back to Yu. _"Well, we've got a whole summer vacation to do it, so whenever will be fine." _Yosuke said to Yu, getting the same response from the others.

Yu's mind wasn't changed at all. _"Will tomorrow be fine?" _he asked with a warm smile, forming a wider one on Mitsuru's face. _"That is more than fine. I have confidence in your commitment." _The room went from a space full of glum faces to faces of beaming smiles and forming friendships.

"_I will give you the details of your destination in the morning," _Mitsuru began, speaking like a leader, _"and once again, thank you so much." _After a number of friendly farewells to their new friend, everyone entered the TV one more time to return to the TV world, but Yu was stopped by a question that he wanted to ask.

"_Wait, Mitsuru. I have just one more question." _Yu called for Mitsuru as he was just about to step into the screen._"Very well, what is it that you ask?" _she asked him politely, willing to answer his incoming question.

"_Before we left to find you, I asked someone about you who said he worked with you, and you told him about Shadows. Who is he?" _The question baffled Mitsuru, making her search through her mind for such a figure. _"He looked about your age." _Yu added, giving him a confusing result.

"_I have no one in mind who would fit those criteria. I'm very sorry." _she answered him, only making the situation more tricky for Yu to solve. _"I'm sure he was someone who worked for your father, there's no need to apologise." _he reassured her hiding his confusion from her.

"_Actually..." _Mitsuru began, getting wide eyes from Yu who hoped that she knew something about the boy... _"...I have a question for you too."_ ...only to be crushed by a false hope. _"Sure, go ahead." _he accepted his incoming question.

"_The person in the bear costume. Why does he wear it?" _she asked, imagining the image of Teddie with a brief chuckle. Yu chuckled with her before calming down. _"I think we'll save that for tomorrow."_

They both made their final goodbye before Yu jumped back into Mitsuru's TV. After going through the tunnel of flying shapes and outlines, he safely hopped out, back into the TV world, seeing that the others were huddled together. He joined the group.

"_So, how are we going to convince our parents?" _Chie asked, looking around the group for anyone with an answer. Everyone rubbed their index fingers on their chins in deep thought, until Yosuke had an idea. _"How about we say that we're going to have a sleepover marathon? That way, they'll know that we'll be away for about a week or more and they wouldn't know where we are? Who's with me?" _Most of the group gave face-palms.

"_Dude, that's a bad idea...besides my family know that I don't do sleepovers..." _Kanji opposed with a look of disinterest. But Teddie thought otherwise. _"A sleepover marathon?"_ Yu then jumped into the conversation before he got too excited. _"We could say that we're going on a school trip for a summer holiday in Iwatodai." _he suggested with his quick reaction.

Everyone struggled to find an excuse better than Yu's, so they saved their painful thinking and nodded confidently to his suggestion. _"That's not a bad idea." _Yukiko commented, still unable to search for a better reason. _"Well, it's better than a sleepover...good thinking Senpai." _Kanji praised Yu, putting a friendly hand on his shoulder.

They all gave a brief smile to each other, knowing that the perfect excuse was set to take another step forward in their aid for the people of Iwatodai. But then there was the worry of getting back to Inaba.

"_So...does anyone know the way back?" _Chie asked with her heading turning in all directions to anyone with a clue, _"Yu?" _she darted towards Yu. Everyone looked at him as the leader he was, only to laugh and giggle at his blank expression.

**There's another chapter for you, and in the same week! Anyway, there is ONE LAST CHAPTER to write, and I can't wait to write it! So look forward to it, keep reading and reviewing and I will write you the ending soon! CYA!**


	11. Let Them Know

_Persona: Spirits In Pixels – Chapter Eleven_

_Let Them Know_

**Well guys...IT'S THE FINAL CHAPTER! But don't worry, there will be a new story going to be made in the works! And as I've said before it will begin where this story leaves off. You are going to be excited about this one! I just want to get this done, this is SO EXCITING! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0801 - Midday - The TV World_

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><p>Long minutes that seemed like long hours passed before the team finally made it to the familiar pile of TV's that sat patiently in the centre of a large platform. The fog, the TV world and the spirits that have appeared before them over the couple of days, no one didn't care about them after finding their long-awaited destination. They all took some weight off by packing their equipment back in Teddie's bear costume, letting Teddie do the rest as he hid it in his secretive spot.<p>

The first ones to jump into the TVs were the ones who were desperate to get back to their world, pushing everyone out of the way. These people were Kanji and Yosuke which, to everyone, wasn't a surprise. Without a word, but moans and groans, they both climbed through the tunnel.

Everyone else followed one by one and took another flight through the blank tunnel to the other side. As they all climbed out of the screen, the unsurprising sight of Yosuke and Kanji laying with arms and legs spread out on the floor left people face-palming.

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><p><em>0801 - Evening - The Real World_

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><p>After a short while of watching them struggle to get up, they all turned their attention to the familiar pattering noise on the windows of Junes called to them, telling them that the weather has not changed one bit. But as they walked out of the TV department, they looked at the landscape of the Inaba streets outside, seeing the many lampposts illuminate the soaking concrete roads in the surrounding darkness of the evening.<p>

"_Wow, we were gone for that long?" _Chie asked rhetorically with a slight surprise in her look. They all stared and watched for a short while at the beautiful sight of the rain on a dark night, looking at the lampposts light shine on the raindrops as they drop down from the heavens above.

Yu reached for his cell phone in his pocket and pulled it out. He held it in front of him and flipped it open, looking at the time that appeared in neon colours. _"It's getting late, we should head back home," _he spoke, _"it'll be a long day tomorrow, so we'll need all the energy we can get."_

His suggestion nodded everyone's heads. _"Okay but first, we've gotta lock up." _Yosuke said, chucking Yu the keys to the TV department door. Yu knew what to do and immediately walked over the the doors whilst Yosuke gave everyone else the keys to the other departments.

Approaching the door, he quickly inserted the key into the keyhole and turned it until it couldn't turn anymore, pulling it out afterwards. Yosuke then walked up to the silver plated number combination that was heavily bolted on one side of the doors, pressing the many numbers until a locking sound was heard.

As Yu turned round to return to the gang, a person was stood at the end of the large hallway, turning away and walking into the larger part of the store. Yu was startled at first but then had the thought of pursuing the figure. He knew well that the figure was that strange boy he met before Mitsuru's rescue.

"_Hey Yosuke," _Yu turned to Yosuke, turning him back round from the group, _"does the hallway need locking up as well?" _After being asked the question, Yosuke reached into his pocket to get his set of keys out, searching for the right key and pulling it out from the keyring.

"_Yeah, but if you could do that, that would be great." _he said as he gave to Yu with a smile. He then pulled another key out from the keyring and again gave it to Yu. _"And if you could lock the main doors on the way out..."_

"_All right then." _Yu took the keys and held them tightly in his palm, heading quickly for the part of Junes where the figure walked off to, leaving everyone to walk back home. Yu power-walked for half of the distance, but then sprinted as everyone walked out of the doors. _"Make sure you give them back in the morning!" _Yosuke shouted before stepping outside.

As Yu ran into the larger part of Junes, he turned his head to the large group of windows, seeing that the boy was stood at the same spot where he first met him. Yu ran towards him, hearing the echoes of his footsteps fill the room. He approached the boy, but still standing at a short distance from him.

The boy had no reaction to Yu's presence, but still watched the lamppost light bounce off the drenched windows, watching the raindrops batter against the glass and how it bounces the light into an array of weird patterns. Yu could see that the boy was wearing the same clothes, even though the amount of light was so little and very limited.

"_Hey..." _Yu spoke sternly to the boy after an uncomfortably long silence between them. The boy turned his head at the same angle, still not revealing any clear facial expressions. But what was vaguely visible, was a meaningful smile from the corner of his lips. _"You came." _he spoke quietly, yet in a genuine tone.

"_I've got a question for you..." _Yu spoke, trying not to believe the kindness in the boy's voice, _"...We did find Mitsuru and the information you gave us about her was correct...so I suppose I should thank you for that...but she told me that she didn't know anything about you...and I'm not so sure if you were her friend or colleague, or whatever...so I demand an explanation..."_

The boy's smile then slowly faded away as he saw the small anger written on his face, slightly lowering his head and turning his head back towards the windows. Another pause allowed only the noise of the rain to settle the uneasy atmosphere.

The boy sighed heavily. _"I know..." _he spoke darkly yet apologetically, _"you're right...I wasn't clear enough to you..."_ Yu felt his apology as it reached across to him, taking some of his feelings into consideration. His expression didn't change though. _"So, why can't you tell me? About who your are? Or even your name?" _he asked, hoping that any answer to those questions would come up.

"_It's too soon for any of those questions to be answered..." _the boy spoke, turning his head at another small angle with a sudden jolt, _"...I can't say why I am keeping myself to myself, but please understand...all of this will come to light..." _Yu could sense his desperation, not knowing what to say, with no words at the ready.

"_I am not fully convinced...but for now...I feel like I can trust you." _Yu spoke after yet another fallen silence. The boy's head was slightly turned around a little more, but it still didn't show any facial expression. _"I will need all of your trust..." _the boy spoke solemnly, reaching into his jacket pocket, _"...so for now, I shall earn it..."_

To Yu's surprise, the boy's body was turned around so it was facing him, but even though the figure's shape of his body was clearly seen, his expression and every other feature that he might own was still lingering in the shadows.

The boy walked up to him and took a small object out of his pocket, dropping it into Yu's open hand. _"What I have given you is important to two people...you will meet one of them in the coming journey...and once you do, everything will become clear. I am sure of it..." _he spoke with great trust in Yu.

Yu nodded to the boy, holding onto the object tightly to ensure it's safety. _"I won't let it out of my sight." _he spoke with confidence to the boy. He could just make out a smile from him. Another long silence fell, but the atmosphere was clear of it's unsettling negativity.

"_Take care, Yu. Let them know." _he said his farewell before turning around and walking back into his spot. Yu watched him as he walked, but suddenly, his body started flickering. His body seemed two-dimensional and the black, white and green stripy colours that flickered were almost reminiscent to the static that appears on the Midnight Channel. Even the sound of static was heard with each flicker.

Eventually, his body vanished in a quick flash, in a split second. And one final thought that went through Yu's head before he disappeared, was the baffling thought that the boy oddly knew his name, without giving it to him in the first place.

Yu looked at his closed fist and opening it, looking carefully at the object that the boy had given him. But because of the darkness and the limited light around him, he couldn't quite make out what it was. Another question then sprung to mind. _"'Let them know'? What does he mean by that?"_ he asked in thought to himself.

"_Senpai!" _shouted a familiar voice from the hallway. Yu knew that it was Rise who was calling him, so he ignored the object for now and quickly ran towards where she was. _"Coming!"_ he shouted in answer as he got one of the keys out.

As he ran into the hallway where Rise was, there was a small keyhole on a control panel with a green button next to it. He inserted the key and turned it at a small angle, pressing the green button, causing a large but thin metal fencing to slowly come down from the edges of the entrance. As it came down, the quiet sound of machinery, eerily echoing off of the marble walls and floors.

Eventually the metal door was secure in place, and Yu and Rise were ready to go. He pulled the key out and reached into his pocket for the second key in preparation to lock the main doors.

"_You were in there for a long time," _Rise began conversation, _"was everything okay?" _Yu felt slightly off guard as the question was asked, finding it hard to find the words for an excuse. But with a quick enough reaction, he found one. _"Yeah...I thought I saw a burglar...but I think I'm just tired."_

"_Well, if you're sure...then okay." _Rise responded with a smile, getting one back with tired eyes from Yu. As they made their way to the doors, they walked towards a white box that had all of the light switches contained.

Yu opened it up and flicked the necessary switches, causing the hallway lights to be snuffed out and the main automatic doors to be turned off. They both left through the doors, and Yu quietly pulled the open doors together and used the right key to lock them both together securely.

* * *

><p><em>0801 - Nighttime_

* * *

><p>After this long process of keeping Junes under lock and key, Yu and Rise could finally return home, before their long journey that awaited them the next day. Since they were all alone together, Rise took her opportunity and stood close to him as they walked, giving Yu and chance to wrap his arm around her waist.<p>

They came up to a lamppost and Yu quickly remembered the object that the boy gave him. With his other free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled it out, giving another observation.

The object was more clearer with the help of the light from the lamppost. But the more clearer it became, the more odd it seemed to Yu. What the boy gave him was a cell phone strap, which he thought was a strange thing to be kept as an important symbol between two people. The fabric of the strap was pink and it also had a little toy figurine on it that was hung by a pink wire that was connected to the fabric.

But the only thing that stood out was the two letters that were written on the back of it. The writing was neat and it seemed to have been written with a marker pen. The letters weren't so clear to see, but when they were directly underneath the lamppost, the letters 'YT' were revealed.

Yu gave one final wonder to what might happen and what they will have to face in the near future. But drowsiness took over his thoughts, and the only idea that he was focussed on was the thought of being in bed.

**Well, that's it for another story guys! Thank you all so much for watching and and an even bigger thank you to all those who gave their feedback and voted in the poll! But for now, please look forward to the story coming near you! So until next time guys! CYA! SHE'S DONE!**

**Persona: World and Judgement is the new In-Progress story! Check it out!**


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